Abuse to adulation: How a hostile Portrush turned in Scheffler’s favor when Rory’s race was run

The crowd are on their feet as Scottie Scheffler makes the iconic walk up the 72nd hole at the Royal Portrush.

The world’s best player had to battle the pressure of leading a major and a partisan crowd to secure his first Claret Jug. Rob Jerram was inside the ropes with him to experience it.

When Scottie Scheffler birdied Royal Portrush’s 5th hole to extend his Open lead to seven shots, there wasn’t so much as a ripple.

All eyes were on the par-3 6th green, where Rory McIlroy, playing in the group ahead, was lining up a short putt for par. From the noise that erupted as it dropped, you’d have thought it was birdie… and that the home favorite was in genuine contention, rather than eight back.

A couple of minutes later, another excitable roar, this time as Scheffler’s tee shot landed at the front of the green and ran back down into trouble.

“F*** you, Scottie!” came a scream. “Give us a smile, Scottie, you’re winning, pal!” another quipped. Then a bemusing cry of “Wife and kids!” – presumably in response to the World No.1’s comments about wife Meredith and son Bennett providing more fulfilment than any victory in a golf tournament ever will.

It was a common theme through the early part of the round. Regardless of how unlikely it was that the Northern Irishman was going to chase down his biggest rival from across the pond, the partisan crowd was going to do all they could to give him a chance, even if that meant crossing a line.

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As Scheffler saved an unlikely par on the 6th, he showed his first signs of emotion. He’d heard the comments – it was impossible not to. And while “Rory’s going to get you” is never going to get him riled, foul language and bringing his family into things seemingly broke his robotic approach. He pumped both fists and glanced at the crowd as he grabbed his ball from the cup to the sound of some very gentle applause and a shout of “Rory’s coming, Scottie!”

“The crowd wanted somebody else to win this week and I got to play spoiler,” he said afterwards, the Claret Jug glistening beside him. “It was a lot of fun.”

McIlroy had received more adulation for managing to walk from a green to a tee than Scheffler had received for three birdies in his opening six holes. There were moments when the American could have been forgiven for thinking this was an away Ryder Cup rather than The Open.

There were more cheers at the 7th when Scheffler found the bunker from the tee quickly followed by delight around the green as McIlroy made birdie to close the gap.

As the man atop the leaderboard managed another par save with an excellent long putt, an exasperated fan behind me said, “Oh for Christ’s sake, he’s drained it. Can’t he just piss off?” Another shouted, “You’re ruining this for us, Scottie!” Music to his ears.

Despite that, as I walked behind Scheffler and final-pairing partner Haotong Li, I found myself trying to imagine if anyone would be shouting similar if this had been Tiger Woods – the man so many are likening Scheffler to – putting on a masterclass in closing out victory.

By the time we return to Portrush for another Open, the 29-year-old could have made a serious dent in Woods’ major wins record, and the reception will likely be a lot different. (Unless the local boy is in contention again, presumably.) But perhaps even Woods wouldn’t have received a warm welcome if the prodigal son was among the chasing pack – even if that chasing pack was so distant that it had another zip code.

Scheffler gave the fans hope as his circuit board briefly shorted on the 8th. Having found another fairway bunker from the tee, he took the weekend golfer approach and attempted a risky and aggressive iron shot, only to see his ball smash into the lip and roll back to him. He shook his head in disbelief as the surrounding crowd gasped before exploding into a massive cheer. “You’re bottling it, Scheffler, scared of Rory!” a Northern Irish accent screamed.

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Minutes later, there were more cheers, more shouts, as Scheffler missed his putt for bogey and racked up his only double of the week – just his fourth and fifth dropped shots of the entire tournament and his first since the 11th hole on Friday. Suddenly, the baying crowd had hope that Portrush’s headline act would once again have a familiar twang. There were loud boos as the leader walked to the 9th his lead cut to four. Chants of “Rory! Rory! Rory!” rang out as even the young fans kept their hands by their side – no requests for high-fives to be seen.

But one of the reasons Scheffler has drawn comparisons with Woods – and one of the reasons he’s won four of these Grand Slam events in four seasons – is because he knows how to bounce back from an error. He gives others hope and then slams the door.

As a party atmosphere began to develop, Scheffler was happy to be the pooper. A monster drive down the 9th led to a bounce back birdie just as my earpiece revealed McIlroy was in trouble behind the 10th. A duffed chip followed for the Masters champion with Scheffler arriving at his ball in the middle of the fairway just in time to watch McIlroy make his own double. A few holes ahead, birthday boy Chris Gotterup was making a charge less than a week after winning the Scottish Open. But even when a group of fans burst into a chorus of ‘Happy Birthday’, this party was over.

With Rory’s race seemingly run, the home crowd reached the acceptance that the best man was going to win. The booing subsided, replaced by cheers and applause. “Is this the final group or is there more to come,” a ‘fan’ asks a marshal as Scheffler and Li walk off 10.

There are still plenty of cheers and whistles for the main man in the group ahead, but now Scheffler is getting the praise he deserves as well.

“Go on, Scottie, great job,” a local voice boomed on 12. More of the same follows. “Bring it home, champ,” one of the few American voices screamed as he sticks his ball to 10 feet on 13.

“How’s he so good?” a man behind me asked. “I know, I couldn’t do that with 20 balls and no one watching,” his pal replies as they sip a Guinness.

“Give the rest of them a chance, Scottie! What’s your handicap?” comes the cry on 14.

A group of youngsters shout “We love you, Scottie” in unison as he walks off 15. The theme continued all the way home. What had started as abuse had turned to adulation.

As he made the famous walk down the 18th, tens of thousands of fans lining the fairway and filling the iconic horseshoe grandstand, everyone was on their feet. They’d dreamed of McIlroy bookending a historic season, but instead, were witnessing the best player in the world do what he’s done for the last few years.

When the moment came for Scheffler to tap in his 267th shot to win by four, respect and admiration was all that filled the air. A Tiger-esque roar and a throw of the cap followed as the Champion Golfer strode towards his family, a beaming smile and face full of emotion. The embrace that followed was long and heartfelt. Perhaps these were the two minutes he spoke of earlier this week. And if so, they’re worth every bit of hard work.

“When I see my family afterwards, that’s a pretty special feeling. It’s one that’s very hard to describe. It’s something I’m very grateful for and something that I’ll hold onto for a long time.”

One thing golf fans in this particular corner of the world can relate to is Scheffler’s commitment to his faith and family – which he describes as his “greatest priorities”.

“Those come first for me,” he added. “Golf is third in that order.

“I’ve said it for a long time, golf is not how I identify myself.”

He just happens to be the best in the world at it.