British Open 2024: Scottie Scheffler has rare opportunity to claim green jacket, Claret Jug in same season

Scottie Scheffler has an opportunity to accomplish a feat that has only been achieed three times in the last 45 years: win the Masters and The Open Championship in the same year. Scheffler's quest is far more robust than this singular achievement, of course, but the Masters-Open double is among the rarer feats in all of golf.

And Scheffler is the 9/2 favorite to do bring home the Claret Jug at Royal Troon.

Not many golfers win two or more majors in a year. It has only happened 13 times since 1980 with Nick Faldo (1990), Mark O'Meara (1998) and Tiger Woods (2005) the three to accomplish the feat at Augusta National and an Open Championship site.

Woods and Faldo did it at St. Andrews, while O'Meara came through at Royal Birkdale. Scheffler would be the third to pull off the Augusta-Troon double joining Arnold Palmer (1962) and Tom Watson (1982). These are all, ahem, pretty big names in the sport.

Scheffler was told that the last man to win this many times (six) at this point in a season was Palmer in 1962. He captured his second major and seventh tournament of the year. His response to learning that factoid was pure Scheffler.

"Yeah, that would be great," he deadpanned.

Asked to elaborate, he inadvertently explained part of what makes him great -- he is untethered and unattached to results.

"I really do mean that I try to stay off the internet as much as possible," Scheffler said. "When I'm at home, I like to try to be at home and be present. I love the history of the game, and there's certain things that I know and certain things that I don't. That was something that, for some reason, I just never stumbled across. So, I had no idea that that was a thing."

Scheffler also might not know that he is in the midst of one of the great modern seasons in PGA Tour history. In the modern era -- broadly since 1982 -- only one golfer has won seven times in a season, including two major championships.

It has already been an extraordinary season for Scheffler, who -- outside the U.S. Open in June where he finished well outside the top 25 -- has lost to nine total golfers since March 1.

Even if he misses every cut from now until the end of the season, it will have been one of the best efforts of the last 25 years. Everything Scheffler adds on top of it now -- whether it's a Claret Jug, gold medal or FedEx Cup victory -- will be historic.

The flip side? Even though "only" winning one major in a season would not be considered disappointing in the short term, Scheffler might look back and wish he could have boosted his career resume more while playing a level of golf we have rarely seen outside of Tiger. Does he need to win another major in 2024? Not really, but as far as legacies go, it would be nice to do so -- perhaps easier to do so -- while playing at this preposterous rate.

It seems odd that Scheffler's bid at this specific bit of history -- a Masters/Open double and seven wins plus two majors in a year -- does not feel like one of the primary narratives entering the week. He's been decent at Opens (they have not been his best major) with three top 25s in as many starts, and he has beaten nearly everyone he has looked at since the Tour turned to Florida five months ago. And yet, Bryson DeChambeau figuring out The Open and Rory McIlroy figuring out his emotions both feel like bigger storylines entering the event.

That is how Scheffler likes it, though. No doubt about it. Flying under the radar is preferred. Nobody talking about him is his comfort zone. Yet his game as good as it has ever been and encouragement from the crowds that has been carrying him.

"One of the things that's been really great about this year is the fan support I've gotten," Scheffler said. "I really feel like the crowds this year have treated me wonderfully. They've been behind me, and I always dreamed of growing up playing on the PGA Tour. Being out here playing in front of great crowds and having them scream your name and holler when you make putts and be truly rooting for you is a great feeling.

"It's something I'll always cherish from my time out here. It's one of the very special perks we have out here playing on Tour is playing in front of great crowds and being able to feel their support."

As for why they love him? Again, he goes full Scheffler and unwittingly gives insight into what makes him the player he is and why he can exist at that level for a longer time than it may seem possible.

"I couldn't tell you," he said. "I guess you'd have to ask them. I feel like I've always been a guy that just let my golf clubs do all the talking for me. I guess that's kind of the cliche. I never really thought of myself as anything but a golfer. I was never trying to be famous. I didn't want to be a celebrity or whatever. I just wanted to become a good golfer and get the most out of myself."