Breakfast Ball #73: Golf's Unstoppable Force Prevails Once Again

Next week will be the third major of the year at the US Open. If you wish to begin preparing for the event, see my profile of this year’s host, Oakmont Country Club. Come back next week for a full preview of the event!

In This Week’s Newsletter:

Scottie Scheffler’s Machine-Like Mastery Rolls On with a Win at The Memorial Tournament

Jack Nicklaus knows a thing or two about winning golf tournaments. 18 major championships over the course of 24 years makes that abundantly clear. So when he hosts a tournament, you can be sure it won’t be easy. Muirfield Village is a demanding, well-crafted test that consistently produces worthy champions, and Mr. Nicklaus certainly knows what a real winner looks like.

Nicklaus put it bluntly after Sunday’s final round: “Ben Griffin's a nice player, Sepp Straka is a nice player, Nick Taylor is a nice player. Those were all the guys that were there basically coming down the stretch.

But [Scheffler] knows that those guys, you know, are not in his league.”

Not in his league. Right now, nobody is in Scottie Scheffler’s league.

Scheffler claimed his third win of the season and the 16th PGA Tour title of his career with a commanding four-shot victory at the Memorial Tournament.

This event played out in a very similar fashion to the PGA Championship. Scheffler did not have his best stuff during the first two days, as players battled rain and wind during the second round. Despite that, he still managed to card two consecutive rounds of 70 leaving him at 4-under for the tournament, three behind leaders Nick Taylor and Ben Griffin.

Scheffler opened his Saturday round with 13 straight pars, visibly frustrated as putts continued to slide by. For most players, that kind of mounting frustration might lead to impatience, chasing risky pins and compounding mistakes. But Scheffler isn’t most players.

He finished his round with 4 birdies in his last five holes, vaulting past the leaders to carry a one-shot advantage into the final day. From there, he never really looked back.

Ben Griffin, coming off a win at last week’s Charles Schwab Challenge, made a late push with an eagle at the 15th and a birdie on the 16th to cut the deficit to two. But a costly double bogey on the 17th handed Scheffler a comfortable walk up the final hole with a four-shot lead.

Scheffler has now converted each of his last seven 54-hole leads into victories and has held the top spot in the Official World Golf Ranking for 90 consecutive weeks. His next test comes at the U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club - a venue that, much like Muirfield Village, demands precision, patience, and mental toughness. Three qualities he has in spades.

Scheffler possesses a rare blend of quiet confidence and humility. He trusts his ability to execute under pressure, yet his approach is grounded in discipline and strategy - not heroics. Rather than chasing the perfect shot, he focuses on the right shot. As he put it after his final round: “When you're looking at a 72-hole tournament, if I'm thinking properly and hitting the correct shots, I should have a decent chance there on Sunday.”

Scottie knows he’s capable of winning every time he tees it up, so long as he stays smart and executes his shots. That belief fuels his unwavering commitment to the process. No panic, no shortcuts - just discipline, patience, and trust in his game. Right now, no one else in the world matches that combination of self-belief and consistency.

Nobody is in his league.

News and Results from the Golfing World 🌍️ 

• 🇸🇪 Maja Stark captured her first major championship with a victory at the US Women’s Open

  • Stark won by two strokes ahead of Japan’s Rio Takeda and world number one Nelly Korda

  • She became the third Swede to ever win the USWO after Lisolette Newman and Annika Sörenstam

  • The event was held at Erin Hills in Wisconsin, a superb venue that delivered a links-style challenge, demanding creativity and precision as players navigated its expansive layout and treacherous green complexes

  • My shot of the week comes from Stark on the 14th hole of the final round. She used the severe slope at the back of the green to her advantage, playing a beautiful shot to set up an eagle opportunity when she needed it most.

• 🇩🇪 Nicolai Von Dellingshausen won the Austrian Alpine Open for his first win on the DP World Tour

  • The 32-year-old has floated between the Challenge Tour and the DP World Tour over the last few years, but this win will solidify his place on Europe’s premier circuit

• 🤠 Oklahoma State Cowboys won the men’s national collegiate golf title behind the great play of another rising Swedish star, Filip Fahlberg-Johnsson

• 🇮🇪 The dates for the 2027 Ryder Cup were announced last week! The 100th anniversary edition will take place from September 17th to 19th at Adare Manor in County Limerick, Ireland

Coming up this week on Tour

• 🇨🇦 Rory McIlroy will return to action at the RBC Canadian Open

• 🇳🇱 The DP World Tour goes to the Netherlands for the KLM Open

• 😅 LIV Golf finally returns after a month off for LIV Virginia at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club

If you have any feedback for the newsletter or would like to get in touch, I would love to hear from you! Email [email protected] or message us on Twitter/X at @BlueHorizonGolf. Thank you for reading!