Georgie Bingham: Scottie Scheffler the robot guy
Scottie Scheffler reacts on the 18th green during the final round of THE PLAYERS Championship at Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass on March 12, 2023 in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. (Photo by Brennan Asplen/PGA TOUR via Getty Images).
I’ve tried repeatedly to write about Scottie Scheffler since his explosion onto the big boys scene last year. I really have - what’s not to like? Well - quite a lot - but none of it rational.
By his 10th hole on Friday at Sawgrass I called his win and this call was NOT an impressive feat that no one else saw coming - Scheffler just got on the birdie train and no one else could realistically sit with him. He even wobbled mid round on Saturday and still won by miles. He’s an incredible golfer.
But - he’s also just - well - an incredibly dull golfer, and don’t we love to hate dull sportsmen? We do, we DEMAND more. Let me tell you a secret about sportsmen; (by and large covering men’s sport is mostly what I’ve done so I am sticking to men) BIG SHOCK ANNOUNCEMENT - sportsmen get really really good at something by being really really consistent and really really committed to it and sometimes, this means they aren’t very interesting people. Sometimes they appear boring because what they do is carry out something perfectly, repeatedly, and that incredible SKILL is what makes them interesting. SOMETIMES there isn’t much else to them.
“I put Scheffler in the Pete Sampras, Steve Davis category. Men who didn’t even break sweat and appeared to win without batting an eyelid. ”
This is not a general rule but it is true of some. I want to watch Jordan Spieth self commentating his rounds. I want to see Tyrell Hatton eff and blind after every shot. I love/HATE watching golfers lose their shit spectacularly because they show us they’re human. I absolutely loved Min Woo Lee at the Players Championship on Sunday - he had a horrible final day - but there he was fist pumping himself and geeing up the crowd on 17 (where 4 out of the final 8 golfers hit the water) because he seemed determined to enjoy the misery he was putting himself through after his moving day magic.
Scottie Scheffler celebrates during the final round of THE PLAYERS Championship at Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass on March 12, 2023 in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. (Photo by Brennan Asplen/PGA TOUR via Getty Images).
There’s a certain type of “dull” sportsman who incur our wrath - the robot sportsman. The ones who show little to the camera, who execute almost perfectly and never seem flappable. Scheffler on the 17th tee on Sunday night at Sawgrass? Not a bead of sweat. No jeopardy - well none for us to see anyway.
I put Scheffler in the Pete Sampras, Steve Davis category. Men who didn’t even break sweat and appeared to win without batting an eyelid. Of course, we know these guys are not doing any thing effortlessly. They were and are merciless perfectionists who literally murder the competition with their ruthless displays and we should admire and love them for how they do it - but we can’t help having a little moan that they’re not doing it the way WE want.
“There’s a certain type of “dull” sportsman who incur our wrath - the robot sportsman. The ones who show little to the camera, who execute almost perfectly and never seem flappable.”
Robot sportsmen are normally politely spoken, very uncontroversial figures we castigate because they don’t appear to have much about them. Maybe they choose to show us very little. What I do know is that I don’t hate Scheffler’s golf. It’s pretty damn good. I also know that if I don’t find him interesting that doesn’t mean he doesn’t deserve the wins or the riches. I also know that sport needs its robot winners as much as it needs its eccentric athletes, it’s raging pyscho guys and it’s Mr Easy-Breezies. It takes all sorts so let’s try be nice. Eh?
