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5 hours ago
Unless your name is Scottie Scheffler, winning is surely the hardest achievement in golf.
And of course it is difficult. That is what makes it so worthwhile.
But consider how hard it was for Charley Hull to get over the line for her third LPGA Tour win and how impossible it proved for her forlorn opponent, Jeeno Thitikul – the world number one no less.
Consider also how Luke Donald is turning to virtual reality and detailed recces to try to achieve the holy grail of an away win in a Ryder Cup. Nothing is being left to chance, it seems, to acquire the sweet taste of victory.
‘I had this mad shock of adrenaline come through me’
And no-one epitomises the difficulty of finishing top of the heap more than Thitikul, who since February has finished fifth or better on nine occasions, with only one of those high finishes yielding a trophy – the Mizuho Americas Open in May.
The 22-year-old Thai, who lost a freakish play-off to Grace Kim at the Evian Championship in July, took a one-shot lead to the final hole at Sunday’s Kroger Queen City event in Ohio.
She was trying to go one better than runner-up at her last LPGA outing, the FM Championship a fortnight ago.
Thitikul found herself with a three-and-a-half footer for a winning birdie, but charged the putt and missed the return. It was a four-putt that left Hull with a tap-in for victory.
This was an opportunity no-one had seen coming until those extraordinary moments. And getting over the line was no easier for Hull.
The English star had surrendered a two-shot advantage at the start of the back nine. She had been runner-up in her previous two outings, the Aramco Houston Championship and the year’s final major, the AIG Women’s Open at Royal Porthcawl last month.
She has been second in majors on four occasions and the 29-year-old from Kettering had not won on the LPGA Tour since 2022. Two years earlier Hull lost a play-off to Minjee Lee in the same event.
So it was little wonder she backed off the tiddler for victory before finally and unconvincingly coaxing the winning putt into the side of the cup.
Hull did not disguise how nerve-wracking a moment it had become before completing this long overdue success.
“I was pretty calm coming into the green,” Hull said. “I knew I had to hole the putt for eagle, I missed it and had a foot [left].
“When I realised I had it for the win I had this mad shock of adrenaline come through me and my hands were shaking. I was like ‘oh, no!’
“Usually I can calm it down in like five minutes, but I had to play straight away. I had to back off it twice.
“I don’t know how Tiger Woods won that many tournaments [with] that much pressure. It was just a shock.”
Eyes now turning to Bethpage
For Woods read Scheffler, in the newest era. Unlike for so many others, it seems winning for the tall Texan is a routine pursuit. The Open and US PGA champion is celebrating his sixth triumph of the year.
He overturned a two-shot deficit to beat Ryder Cup team-mate Ben Griffin in California.
“I did my best to stay in my own world and keep making birdies,” Scheffler said. “I did a good job at staying patient and finished it off.”
Nothing to it, then.
But that, of course, ignores the thousands of hours of diligent preparation that creates such reliable technique and with it consummate confidence.
Scheffler now has 19 wins in 150 PGA Tour starts. It is his second consecutive season with six or more trophies – since 1983 only Woods has had multiple years with six or more victories.
The current world number one keeps it simple. While Europe’s Ryder Cup stars at Wentworth last week were ready and happy to embrace the upcoming contest and its numerous narratives, Scheffler had more singular ideas.
“I’m present, I’m ready to play this week,” Scheffler said before the Procore Championship. “I didn’t show up to Napa to talk about the Ryder Cup for four days. I’m here to play a golf tournament.”
Only now will he be prepared to turn his attention to the USA’s quest to regain the Ryder Cup at Bethpage, starting on 26 September.
Europe are already at the New York course, familiarising themselves with the surroundings for what promises to be a tumultuous contest.
Captain Donald is approaching the task of steering Europe to a first away win in 13 years with Scheffler-like diligence. His team have the chance to foster their spirit and strategy for what could be a crucial couple of days.
The team, caddies and support staff will then stay in the US to ensure there are no worries over jet lag by the time the match comes around.
They will also don their virtual reality headsets programmed to recreate the sort of crowd hostility they are expecting to face in the Bethpage “bear pit”.
Oh, the fun of the phoney war.
But Donald is leaving no stone unturned preparing his players. Whether he is pleased that Rory McIlroy has put this high-tech tactic in the public domain, though, is open to question.
Some observers believe this will only fuel the fervour of the home fans, who will be determined to make Europe’s quest as hard as possible.
And, as we know, winning is already the toughest of tasks.
