Finding the Point

When reporters asked Scottie Sheffler, golf’s world number one-ranked player, what winning the 153rd Open Championship at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland would mean to him, he said, “What’s the point?”

Sheffler went on to say, “It feels like you work your whole life to celebrate winning a tournament for like a few minutes.”

Sheffler is not your average weekend golfer. He’s not the club pro nor the tour journeyman. In fact, over the past two years he’s actually been the closest to Tiger Woods than any player over the past two decades. Now, at age 29, Sheffler has played in 81 events over the past four years, winning 20 times. He won 4 majors during that span, adding 2 Players Championships, considered by many to be the 5th major, and averaged 2.8 strokes gained (SG) per round.

Tiger Woods, from age 25-29, played in 79 events, winning 18 times. He won 4 majors and also had 2.8 SG per round but never won the Players. Woods, a prodigy who famously burst onto the golf scene after capturing three-straight U.S. National Amateur titles before winning the Masters in 1997 at age 21 by a record 12 strokes, has proven to be the greatest player in the modern game. He often represents the measuring stick for the game’s current stars.

Before age 24, Woods also had a career grand slam, something Sheffler’s actively pursuing with the U.S. Open the only trophy needed to fill his cabinet. If Sheffler does win the U.S. Open, which many believe is more a when, he’ll also be the only career grand slam winner to have an Olympic Gold medal, which he won last year in Paris.

Yet while Woods was highly driven, maybe even obsessive, to exceed Jack Nicklaus’ record of 18 majors, Sheffler is surprisingly not.

“Is it great to be able to win tournaments and to accomplish the things I have in the game of golf? Yeah, I mean, it brings tears to my eyes just to think about it because I’ve literally worked my entire life to become good at the sport and to have that sense of accomplishment is a pretty cool feeling. To get to live out your dreams is very special, but at the end of the day I’m not out here to inspire the next generation of golfers. I’m not here to inspire somebody else to be the best player in the world because what’s the point? Because this is not a fulfilling life. It’s fulfilling from a sense of accomplishment but it’s not fulfilling from a sense of the deepest places of your heart.”

Sheffler is speaking about the arrival fallacy, something sports psychologist Brad Stulberg writes about in his post last week. “Wherever you are, the goalpost is always 10 yards down the field,” Stulberg writes. “If you develop the mindset ‘If I just accomplish ____ THEN I’ll arrive,’ you are in for a rude awakening.”

The arrival fallacy, coined by positive psychologist Dr. Tal Ben-Shahar, describes feeling a lack of happiness, accomplishment, or fulfillment when reaching a desired goal. When we’re driven towards a particular accomplishment with the belief that achievement will cure all that ails us, we’re left with dissatisfaction and motivational loss, which can ultimately affect our self-esteem, relationships, and other important aspects in our lives. Sheffler is describing what many psychologists refer to as a healthy way to approach high-attainting goals, by remaining present, re-defining success, and finding joy in the process rather than the outcome. When we’re able to do this, we can overcome the arrival fallacy and focus on what matters most.

Why is all this relevant information and how does it apply to the rest of us? Well, if you’d read these comments before a major tournament without knowing the name attached to them and had to take a stab at where you thought this player would finish, what would you guess?

Top 20? Top 50? Would this player even make the cut?

Sheffler finished one shot back after the first round then scored a week-low 64 on the second day to take the lead. On Saturday, he finished with a 4 under 67 to head into the final day with the lead, something he’s never lost in his previous 9 tournaments when leading after 54 holes. In the final round, his lead reached 7 strokes at one point before eventually winning by 4 to claim his first Open Championship and his second major this season. Sheffler also won the PGA Championship in May.

For an athlete to win a tournament against his peers with such conviction, yet still hold feelings of uncertainty over the outcome is extremely human. Because Sheffler has more important reasons for working so hard at being great at the sport.

“I’m blessed to be able to come out here and play golf, but if my golf ever started affecting my home life or it ever affected the relationship I have with my wife or with my son, you know, that’s going to be the last day I play out here for a living.”