LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- They wanted to hang an asterisk on Roger Maris when he broke Babe Ruth's home run record in 1961 because the baseball season stretched eight more games than Ruth played when he set the record.
Pat Riley and Shaquille O'Neal brought out the A-word when they discussed the NBA title that the Los Angeles Lakers won during the shortened 2020 COVID-19 season.
Now golf could be looking at an asterisk situation:
If Scottie Scheffler wins the U.S. Open this weekend at Pinehurst No. 2, did his arrest in Louisville cost him golf's finest shot at a Grand Slam since Tiger Woods ruled the world?
My answer is YES.
Rory McIlroy said it best when he was asked what impressed him the most about the spectacular golf Scheffler has played this year.
"The fact that the only thing that took him from winning a golf tournament was going into a jail cell for an hour," McIlroy said.
Well, now that you mentioned it.
If you're making a list for Sports Person of the Year in 2024, Scheffler better be prominent on your list with Patrick Mahomes, Caitlin Clark, Danny Hurley, Dawn Staley and Aaron Judge.
Starting with the Arnold Palmer Invitational near Orlando in mid-March, Scheffler has won five of his last eight tour events, including the Players Championship, the Masters and Jack Nicklaus' Memorial Tournament near Columbus, Ohio, last weekend.
Throw in a pair of second-place finishes at events in Houston and Fort Worth. Before Scheffler teed off at 1:14 p.m. Thursday for his first U.S. Open round with McIlroy and PGA Championship winner Xander Schauffele at +300, solidly favored over McIlroy and Schauffele (both +1100) and Ludvig Aberg (+500). (Bet $100 to win $300 on Scheffler if he wins the open. Bet $100 and win $1,100 on McIlroy and Schauffele.)
"When things go right, he's able to right the ship pretty quickly," Bryson DeChambeau said. "That's a recipe for success, and he's been able to do it longer than anyone has for a long time.
"Again, he is the gold standard right now, and we're all looking up to him going, 'All right, how do we get to that level?' "
The only time Scheffler did not apply significant heat to the leaderboard Sunday unfolded at Valhalla Golf Club here four weeks ago.
One bad Saturday round kept Scheffler from grinding to the finish line with Schauffele (the winner), DeChambeau and Viktor Hovland. Hang the *.
Scheffler has played 51 rounds in 13 events in 2024. The 2-over 73 Scheffler shot at Valhalla during during the third round here is the second-highest score he has posted in 2024, topped only by his surprising final round 2-over 74 at Muirfield Village last Sunday.
I'm aware Scheffler shot 5-under 66 during the second round Friday, which was the day that started with the Scheffler's arrest on four overblown charges that were later dropped following a poorly handled traffic incident when Scheffler was driving into Valhalla for his round early that morning.
It's the mug shot that will live forever even though Scheffler wishes that it wouldn't. People, including fellow golfers, are still having fun with that on social media. Scheffler continues to laugh along with them.
"Like I said, I don't love reliving it, but sometimes being able to laugh about it is a good skill, too," Scheffler said during a news conference Tuesday at Pinehurst.
"When they make jokes, it's definitely hard not to laugh, especially with some of my good buddies, they're pretty funny with it."
It was not as funny four weeks ago. Not with Scheffler in positioned to chase another major championship.
Adrenaline carried Scheffler through Friday. He proved that he has a level of focus and concentration most of us can't create or comprehend.
He showed it from the moment the folks at Metro Corrections gave him his orange jail garb and asked Scheffler if he needed a sandwich. On the chance that attorney Steve Romines would be able to secure his release to get Scheffler back to Valhalla for his tee time, Scheffler turned his attention to lowering his heart rate and stretching.
Romines delivered. So did Scheffler.
He played one stroke better Friday than he had Thursday. He sat in four-way tie for fourth place, three strokes behind Schauffele.
The adrenaline dump came Saturday. Big-time.
After starting his day with a par, Scheffler lost four strokes on the next three holes, including a punishing double bogey 6 on the second hole. His play over the final 14 holes lacked the consistency he has shown all spring as Scheffler sprinkled five birdies around three more bogeys.
Of the 10 holes that Scheffler failed to play in par or better over four rounds at Valhalla, six came Saturday. He has never blamed the Saturday round on a letdown from the hassles and confusion of what happened on Friday. That's not his style.
But it's reasonable to wonder if the break in his routine led to Scottie Scheffler not doing Scottie Scheffler things at Valhalla on Saturday.
And if Scheffler wins the U.S. Open this weekend at Pinehurst, the question about whether the incident in Louisville cost him a direct shot at golf's grand slam will only get louder.
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