Scotty Scheffler Reflects on Missed Opportunities During U.S. Open

Scotty Scheffler found himself in disbelief.

On the seventh hole of his final round, his second shot from the bunker hit the green but, unsurprisingly, rolled right back into the sand—classic Sinek Hills Golf Club behavior. This blunder contributed to a bogey and turned Scheffler’s 30th birthday, a day that could have marked a career Grand Slam, into a series of “what ifs.”

Leading up to Sunday, there was a lot of buzz about Scheffler and his potential to challenge Windham Clark. He seemed to have figured out the course during Saturday’s back nine, possibly feeling more confident than a six-stroke deficit might suggest. Yet, on Sunday, he could only manage a tie for fourth with JT Poston and Keith Mitchell, ultimately finishing four strokes behind Clark, who claimed his second U.S. Open title in four years.

“I felt like I put in enough work for a strong round,” Scheffler shared. “I had some good putts that almost went in, but they just wouldn’t drop.”

The crowd was behind Scheffler, cheering as they hoped for a remarkable comeback. They even sang birthday wishes, yearning to witness something historic. Unfortunately, his troubles began right from the first hole when his second shot rolled off the green, followed by a missed par-saving putt. By the seventh hole, he had lost the birdie he had gained just two holes prior. Though he got back to 1 under with a birdie on the 10th, he finished the round with a bogey, plus adding four consecutive pars.

In the end, Scheffler’s bid for history became a subplot to Sam Burns’ own journey toward revival. It wasn’t as nail-biting as the 2022 U.S. Open, where he finished just a stroke behind Matt Fitzpatrick, but there were still moments of tension when Clark began to falter.

Left to ponder his earlier round, an area he’s struggled with recently, Scheffler’s opportunity for a significant milestone would need to be postponed for another year.

“At the end of the day, I aimed to get on that leaderboard,” he remarked. “I thought if Windham shot even-par today, we had a shot at him; we just needed to execute our shots.”

“I was close,” he added, reflecting on the day. “But it wasn’t quite good enough.”