Scottie Scheffler insists he's not at Scottish Open to make up the numbers

Scottie Scheffler says he's not at the Scottish Open just to prepare for the final men's major of the year.

The 28-year-old American headlines a stacked field at The Renaissance Club, with eight players inside the top 10 of the OWGR teeing it up this week. 

Scotland's national open undoubtedly has pulling power as it is played a week before The Open but the fact it  has been co-sanctioned by the DP World and PGA Tour for the past four years has also proved vital in securing top talent. 

Scheffler, who is playing the first two rounds alongside defending champion Robert MacIntyre and last year's runner-up Adam Scott, told reporters he's not even thinking about next week. 

"This is an important tournament for me, and this is a tournament I want to play well in," he said on Wednesday afternoon. 

"And if I wanted to just do preparation, I would have gone and played some other golf courses for fun. 

"There's other ways to get prep than coming over and playing tournament golf. It was important for me to get over here."

Scheffler will play in his fifth Open next week. He made his debut in golf's oldest major in 2021 at Royal St George's and finished inside the top 10. 

Respectable performances followed at the landmark 150th Open at St Andrews in 2022 and at Royal Liverpool a year later. He also navigated the conditions well at Royal Troon 12 months ago on his way to another top 10 finish. 

But he would undoubtedly believe that he should have put in a stronger challenges to lift the Claret Jug. Especially as he is now an Olympic champion and won 16 times on the PGA Tour. 

Still, Scheffler insists he loves the challenge of links golf. 

When he is playing on the PGA Tour, he often asks his caddie Ted Scott for his lob wedge if he misses a green. 

Over here, he's considering using five or more clubs for any given situation. 

"You get to do a lot of creative stuff," he said. "Like where I grew up in Texas, we grew up in wind off but we didn't quite play in this type of firmness. 

"I learned from a young age how to flight shots and hit all different types of shots.”

"When we come over here, everything opens up for us. I get to use all that stuff did I as a kid. You did a lot less thought about positions in your golf swing and stuff like that. 

"It's less about fundamentals and more figuring out how you're going to get the ball closer to the hole and all that other stuff washes away."

Scheffler gives verdict on career grand slam

Rory McIlroy climbed his Everest in April by winning The Masters to complete the career grand slam. 

He became only the sixth golfer in history to win all four majors. 

Scheffler, who has won The Masters twice and PGA Championship once, is the favourite to complete the slam next despite Jordan Spieth and Phil Mickelson only being one leg away. 

Xander Schauffele will also feel he should be part of the conversation. 

Scheffler was asked if he feels he has a better chance to win The Open or U.S. Open. 

"I don't think so," he said. "I like both style of golfs. I love getting beat up at the U.S. Open. 

"That's a fun battle between us and the golf course. And coming over here, like I said, you get to do a lot of stuff I wouldn't normally do."