Jordan Spieth drops bold Scottie Scheffler retirement take after Nikola Jokic comparison

Jordan Spieth, who played alongside him at Whistling Straits, spoke after his final round at Royal Portrush about how much a win would mean for Scheffler. The 2017 Claret Jug winner said: “He is obviously well-deserving of it, probably the most deserving player of it, and I’ve thought the way that his game is the last few years, the harder the conditions, the better for him over here.

“If there’s ever a chance for someone to take him down, it’s when it’s benign like this. But he has been putting so well this week, I have a hard time thinking anybody else would get it done,” he said.

Spieth addressed Shane Lowry’s remarks suggesting that Scottie Scheffler would draw more comparisons to Tiger Woods if his swing resembled Adam Scott’s. He then explained why, in his view, Scheffler doesn’t always receive the full recognition his performances might warrant.

“I think more so maybe it’s less the golf swing and maybe more of his personality. He doesn’t care to be a superstar. He is not transcending the game like Tiger did. He is not bringing it to a non-golf audience necessarily,” Spieth explained.

“He just wants to get away from the game and separate the two because I know that he – at one time, he felt it was too much, that he was taking it with him, and whenever he made that switch, I don’t know what it was, but he has hobbies. He is always with his family. They’re always doing stuff.

“I think it’s more so the difference in personality from any other superstar that you’ve seen in the modern era and maybe in any sport. I don’t think anybody is like him.”

Spieth compared Scheffler to another unassuming superstar from another sport: Nikola Jokic.

“I wouldn’t necessarily think that the golf swing makes as much of a difference as the personality match. I’m thinking about so many other sports, and Nikola Jokic is the only guy I can think of that’s a superstar that’s equally unassuming in any sport in the modern era, and I’m happy if anybody else can find another example, but it’s very rare. Most people lean into it and take advantage of it,” he added.

“Federer, he went very – he is maybe the same kind of demeanour and person; that doesn’t mean – as a person he is different, but he made more off the court than he did on all the time, and he cared to. When Scottie is done playing, he is not going to show back up at tournaments. I can promise you that.”

Scheffler’s US Open record as career Grand Slam nears

If Scheffler does pull it off, he will only need the US Open to complete the Career Grand Slam, joining just six other players who have managed it.

He has already finished in the top five twice, including a runner-up spot at Brookline in 2022. And he has been inside the top 10 four times in his last five appearances.

With next year’s tournament at Shinnecock Hills, there will be plenty of people backing him to finish the job.

Given how consistently he plays and how steady his mentality is, there doesn’t seem to be much standing between him and another piece of history.