‘A Pretty Unfulfilling Pursuit’ – McIlroy And Scheffler Share Similar Morbid Thoughts On Legacy
The two best players in the world have more in common than just their ability with a club in hand as their answers to a question regarding legacy proved
World No.1 Scottie Scheffler’s comments ahead of last year’s Open at Royal Portrush questioning what the point was of achieving greatness in golf reared their head on Tuesday in the build-up to the 2026 edition of golf’s oldest championship.
The American raised eyebrows in Country Antrim in Northern Ireland when he admitted he didn’t get much in the way of meaningful fulfillment from his career before, ironically, going on to win the Claret Jug for the first time just a few days later.
At Royal Birkdale, those remarks from 12 months ago were put to the World No. 1, and although he was more careful about how he conveyed his message, the subject drew laughs from the press in attendance when a reporter inadvertently created another Scheffler soundbite we could well be looking back on in another year’s time.
“You mentioned history; we're all going to die someday and all that kind of stuff,” the question began.
“Sorry,” a shocked Scheffler replied. “Is that going to be a quote after last year's ‘what's the point?’ This year we're all going to die.”
Once the laughter subsided, there was a poignant question about legacy and if it truly doesn’t matter how Scheffler the golfer is remembered when all is said and done.
“I think it matters more to me just in terms of the competition,” Scheffler began. “There's things I would like to accomplish in the game, but at the end of the day, I have never once thought about how I'm going to be remembered. To me, it truly doesn't matter from a sense of like accomplishment.
“Like when I die, hey, Scottie won four majors and 20 tournaments and he won this much money. That has zero effect on me.
“It's more just the things that I can try to achieve in the game. That's something just for me just trying to get the most out of myself, like do you want to be able to win tournaments, you want to be able to put yourself in those positions. That's what I love about the game.
“History, to me, I guess maybe just isn't that important. I don't necessarily want to be remembered for winning the tournaments that I won. I'd much rather be remembered for the way I did it than the tournaments that I won.
“So if I'm doing things the right way, treating people the right way. A successful week for me is when I approach things the right way, when I'm committed to what I'm doing.
“I love being able to go out and compete, but over time I've gotten much better at just being able to take your hat off and shake hands. I've met some great people in the game of golf. Some of my best friends in the world I met through playing golf.
“History for me has never been the most important thing.”
The same question was later put to six-time Major winner Rory McIlroy, and his response struck a very similar chord.
“I think it would be a pretty unfulfilling pursuit if you're just chasing records and chasing results,” the Northern Irishman said. “You have to enjoy the process. You have to enjoy the journey to get there. I've learned that the hard way at times by chasing results and chasing records too much.
“You start to focus on your craft and your practice and doing the things you need to do to try to become a better golfer, and then if you do that, the results and the winning almost take care of themselves, or at least you put yourself in position enough to at least step through the door a few times.
“You're obviously trying to win, but winning is such a… like it's not a real tangible goal, right? So the real goal is I want to do this with my swing or I want to hit this sort of shot or I want to feel good when I'm over the ball, whatever it is. If you do that stuff enough times, hopefully you get yourself in a position to win.
“Then from there, you can start to think about winning the tournament. But if all you're thinking about is winning and results, you're playing the wrong game.”
While they might not be bothered, both McIlroy and Scheffler’s legacies are almost certain to stand the test of time.
McIlroy became just the sixth male player in history to complete the career Grand Slam with his 2025 Masters win and, just a US Open victory shy, few would bet against Scheffler following in his footsteps.
