Scottie Scheffler not distracted by prospect of unique grand slam birthday present at US Open

Should Scheffler hoist the sterling silver trophy aloft this Sunday, he'd enter the rarified air only occupied by Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy as the only golfers to capture the four major championships in the Masters era.

But the four-time major winner is adopting a more philosophical approach to the week, perhaps because he turns 30 on Sunday.

"For me, would it be a dream to win the US Open? Of course," he admitted.

"But at the end of the day, the Grand Slam has never been a motivating factor for me. I always just wanted to be the best version of myself, and that got me this far.

"It's kind of a funny thing. It's like, yeah, if I win this tournament, that would be amazing. But I think then I show up the next week, and it's like, 'OK, now Scottie's won the Grand Slam, he's won all these golf tournaments. Now, where do we go from here?'

"So no matter what, I think as a player and as a professional athlete, you're never going to live up to the expectations of people.I think the goalposts are always just moved further and further."

"Golf is such a funny game. A good example [is] if I finish second this week, it's almost like, 'Hey, you failed in your first chance to win the career Grand Slam.' Is finishing second a failure? It can feel that way, but I think sometimes when you look at more [from] a wider view of the sport and where your game's at, second is not always that bad. But man, does it fricking hurt at the same time."

Scheffler has just one victory so far in 2026 - the American Express - but my oh my has he been close. He backed up his runner-up finish at the Masters with another two second-place finishes at the RBC Heritage, wher he lost a playoff, and the Cadillac Championship.

The 20-time PGA Tour winner tees off alongside defending US Open champion JJ Spaun and amateur Mason Howell at Shinnecock Hills on Thursday.