OverDrive - Sands on Scheffler’s dramatic press conference, how the greatest athletes are wired, and why he expects McIlroy to ramp back up at The Open.

Episode Date: July 16, 2025

Steve Sands from NBC Golf and Golf Channel on Scottie Scheffler’s dramatic press conference, how the greatest athletes are wired, and why he expects Rory McIlroy to ramp back up at The Open.

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Sansy you've had a few hours to kind of chew on that what Scheffler was saying today what do you think he was trying to get across and what do you make of his stance on all that more importantly I came from Tahoe last week the celebrity event yeah if I have to hear we are the champions again whatever Matthew Kachuk stands up to the teeth thank you thank you good just make agree. I walked up to him on Saturday and said, enough already. He goes, okay, Caps Boy. Oh my God. How can they win two in a row?

No kidding. And they might win a third in a row. That's what's scary, Steve. They're the best team in the league by a mile. I was talking to him. Not only I was talking about that, I don't know if they're the best team in the league, fellas. That Maurice can coach, man. Yeah, he can. He's got to figure it out. He's got it all down. They got it all going on.

They've got another year or two window here to win three, another one. It's nuts. Big time. Anyway, I, you know, Scotty's a fascinating guy. Um, Scotty, I think I've said this to you guys before on the air or off, whichever way. I don't think I've ever been around a professional athlete in any sport and all the years I've been doing this, who cares less about being a star and only cares about winning, you know, stardom comes with winning in all sports and he just has no interest in anything other than just playing golf and hanging out with his family. And that's it.

That's who Scottie is. Everybody wants him to be a fist pump guy running around going crazy, kind of that Tiger era energy. That's just not him, man. He is all business all the time. Yeah. And I appreciate that. You know, I think what he says about his family and all that,

I think a lot of people would feel the same way, but he's expressing it. And yet he's the number one player in the world. He wins all the time. It's just a, it's a crazy kind of mentality. Do you remember the Anthony Rendon thing that he said? Yeah, but that was so nonchalant. Like Rendon was like, I don't want to play anymore. Like, I don't think that's what Scottie's saying, Stanzy like he wants he wants to play loves to play It just in a weird way It's like not fulfilling for him, which is kind of a crazy thing to say cuz I'm sure other players are like well

I'll take your spot then I'll be number one in the world win tournaments be worth all this money I'm sure I would find it fulfilling kind Kind of crazy that, like he's not, he's basically saying I'm never gonna be satisfied with golf, it's just a wild kind of way to put it. A couple things about it, one is, as a diehard Nationals fan, I am indebted forever to Anthony Rendon for helping us win the World Series in 2019, but let's not put

Anthony Rendon in the same sentence, even the same paragraph as Scottie Shafel, he's a nice, nice player, but he's not Scotty Sheffield. Here's the thing about Scotty. I'm not, I'm not a deeply religious person at all. Uh, we weren't born and raised that way, uh, in our house. I have no problem with people who are religious. I, we just, I'm just not a religious guy. He has deep faith and it's not fake. And he's not someone who wears it on his sleeve too often And I like that. I like that. He keeps it to himself

And it only comes out every once in a while. He's not trying to profess it onto people all the time Which I think is a cool thing not that he does because he sincerely Has a deep deep faith. He's been with Meredith forever, like literally forever. And his family is, and God are the two biggest things in his life. He just happens to be an amazing golfer, an all time golfer, best player in the world right now. And I don't even think he's close, not saying he's going to win this week, but I think he's the best player in the world right now, and I don't even think it's close not saying he's gonna win this week But I think he's the best player in the world not even close and it's third on his list Again, name me another professional athlete who is the best I'm talking the Gretzky Connor McDavid You know LeBron Michael Jordan, you know all go down the line Tom Brady

Go down the line of all the sports that we all know and love and enjoy, Roger Federer and all these guys, Novak Djokovic. The tennis, the golf, the horse racing, the hockey, whatever sport it is, it always comes first when you're the best because you've got to be selfish at some point to get to that level. It's such rarefied air. And Scottie is not like that. He never has been, and I don't think he ever will be. He is satisfied being a great golfer and playing great and winning championships. But what really makes him tick

is his family and his faith. And that's just something that people are gonna have to understand here for the next couple of decades, is Scottie keeps this up. I heard it a little bit differently. What I heard from him is that he's constantly trying to win every week. Once he wins, you're joined for five minutes and then you move on because you've got to

prepare again to defend your level of play or defend whoever's coming at you. I heard more like kind of what's it, because I think he used the words, what's the point? He's just like, it just never ends. It'll never end. And I wonder if maybe he's not finding that a bit hard because you're not just done. You don't climb Everest and you're done.

You have to climb an Everest every single week because there's people chasing you. And there's never that chance to, you're not done. You're just never done. Yeah, I mean look, I heard it the same exact way. I guess I'm interpreting it differently, but I heard it the same way you did. Let's put it in, like you guys mentioned before I came on,

you said you wouldn't hear Tiger Woods say that. Tiger Woods was singularly focused on, and forget all the off course stuff, I'm not talking about that, he was singularly focused on being the best player on the planet that's really truly all he ever wanted to do and be Michael Jordan same exact way you know that's how these guys are wired there's a big difference between being the greatest and being great you know the planet there's nothing wrong with being

great but to be the greatest there's just an extra gear there. And I know Scottie has that gear. He just doesn't articulate it very often. And when he wins, he truly is like, okay, I'm going to go home. I'm going to kiss my wife, kiss my baby. I'm going to have a beer. We'll celebrate a little bit and then I'll be back on the range Monday morning. And that's just the way he is.

And he is never satisfied. Maybe it's because of the nature of this sport, and you guys know it well, that there's no perfection in this sport. You know, there's no crazy run in this sport that can make you think, I've got it. You know, and look at the motivation factor of McElroy after winning, it's only human nature

after winning the career grand slam, and that was your goal your whole life, to have a little bit of a dip in your game. And that's human nature. I don't think Scottie's like that. I think Scottie's just so steady and so great at what he does. And it's so satisfied with his life off the golf course. It's been that way for a long time. He's a young man guys, but he's not like 45 48 years old. And he's just getting cranked up here. And everything about his

life is in order. And that allows him to go be great on the golf course. It's not the other way around for him. The other stuff is more important to him than the golf because that stuff allows him to be great in golf. So Steve, is that what you think happened to Rory after winning the Masters and now do you think maybe it rounds back up for him this week? Yeah, I think there's no question about it. There were two ways of looking at Rory's win. I think when we were all together in Toronto at the RBC Canadian Open, we were chatting about this. There's two ways to look at Rory's Masters win. He wanted to be a a career grand slam champion his whole life, it took him 11

tries to get it, uh, and it only can be a natural, he, he's a nice guy, well read, smart guy as a life outside of golf. It's only natural and take your foot off the gas just a little bit. I mean, my gosh, nobody can be that singularly focused unless you're just insane. And some guys are, and Rory was not. So I think he took a natural dip. And then he did something really big. A couple of weeks ago, he just said, I'm going home. He came over here to Europe, where he and his wife, Erica, had built a really nice house outside of Wentworth near London and they just got away. Got away from everybody, got away from everything, including golf by the way. And it kind of recharged his battery

and also kind of made him miss it a little bit. So then he comes last week to the Genesis Scottish Open, had a chance to win, ends up tied for second, and now he comes in here with some momentum. At a golf course, he's shot 61 here when he was a teenager. Grew up less than an hour from here in Hollywood, Northern Ireland, and this thing means a lot to him. And I think he's in a much better headspace this week than he was at the PGA, certainly at Quail Hollow and the US Open at Oakmont as well. I think he's raring to go. With Steve Sands, and like I would think if he finds a way to win this, it's certainly the most memorable season of his career and it won't match like Tiger in 2000, but does

it launch him into contention for like the second best season of the last 25 years? Oh, for sure. I mean look, there are only six guys who have ever won the career Grand Slam. So that's the first thing. The second thing is when you bookend a season with major championships, the first major being the Masters, the last major is this week the Open Championship. I mean if he wins this week in his home country down the road from where he grew up after winning the career grand slam and then having this big dip, you know, for a month or two, it's not a huge dip, but it was a dip for him. This would be a massive, massive season for him.

It already is a massive season for him by winning the career grand slam and winning the Masters. But if he caps this off, caps it off this week, that would be an outrageous. He just don't see guys. Although Xander Schauffley won two majors last year. Um, he won the PGA championship at Valhalla and then he won a Royal trune he's the defending champion. Uh, this week at the open championship.

So winning two majors in a season is astonishing to begin with. Uh, winning the career grand slam and then adding another major championship to your resume. That would be six by the way, is it five? You know, you start getting into six, you're talking about Nicholson top 10 player of all time, Nick Saldo top 25 player of all time. You know, Lee Trevino, you know, you're talking about some serious company if he can get to six and beyond. I'm not saying that there are a lot of people who won five, but if you get to six and beyond, you're talking serious, serious company in this sport.

Yeah, big time, man. And including, you won at Pebble, you won the Players, you know, like you, you, you win the Players, the Masters in the Open. Yeah. It's like, man, we're just a monster season for Rory McIlroy. By the way, he's the only guy who's ever won a FedEx Cup three times, and the FedEx Cup has only been around since 2007. But like the players, it's become one of those things that's on the resume. He's got five majors, two players, and three FedEx Cups. That's the way it's starting to work in golf now. And if he plays well this week, only two events left before the FedEx Cup playoffs next month. Minnesota and then Greensboro. And he could very well win this week and then also win the FedEx Cup, which

you had two majors and a player in a FedEx Cup. My gosh. That's an unbelievable year. It would be an incredible season. Yep, an incredible season. Stanzy, enjoy yourself over there. It's gonna be a blast, man. You guys crushing it like always. It's gonna be a lot of fun. It's a great, great tournament and we love having you on and we'll do it again soon. Thank you for this. You guys are the best anytime, fellas. There he is, Steve Sands, NBC in the Golf Channel. The final major of the year at a royal port rush the biggest songs in the world

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