Scottie Scheffler entered Royal Birkdale as the defending Open champion and tied for fourth at 7-under. But the real story wasn’t the finish, it was the emotional fire ignited within Scheffler. Indianapolis Colts legend and analyst Pat McAfee saw it and walked away impressed with this new version of Scheffler.

“Scottie for the first time in my memory is letting his inner dawg aht… to be a GOAT at anything you have to be a psychopath in between the ears,” McAfee wrote on X. “That doesn’t mean you’re a bad person, but the passion and obsession that it takes to work your way to the top of a mountain is not a ‘healthy’ state of mentality. I’m excited to watch Scottie battle thru.

“As a punter, much less importance to outcome and much less reps buttttt we do have dudes running at us 🤷‍♂️, NOTHING ON EARTH made me more mad than when I would shank one while absolutely locked in and thinking it was a good hit.. I had zero control over my pissed offness in those moments and always let everyone and the ball know that wasn’t supposed to happen.. AT ALL.. Scottie’s never really done that. I appreciate him letting us in on a little bit of the magic happening between the ears of our 🐐.”

McAfee has been backing Scheffler for quite some time now. In 2024, after Scheffler’s second Masters win, McAfee had called him “a MACHINE’ and praised how he showcased his emotions only after the job was done. But this time, Scheffler did the exact opposite. In the final round of the Open, on the 17th hole, his tee shot sent the ball into a horrible lie, and Scheffler exploded.

“What!?” Scheffler exclaimed, frustration clearly visible on his face. “Why can…how does that even happen? The ball’s slicing. One bounce! One bounce!”

He attempted another shot, but it went towards the hospitality tent. After a discussion with an official and his caddie, he got a drop as his original ball was ruled unplayable due to a Temporary Immovable Obstruction. He recorded a birdie anyway on the par five, but the visible rage had already gone viral by then.

Pat McAfee knows that feeling firsthand, and that’s why this latest support from him matters even more. During a 2014 preseason game against the New York Giants, McAfee missed a 64-yard field goal attempt that would have won the game. After the miss, he told reporters he was “extremely furious it didn’t go in”, admitting that it was “extremely attainable.” He even apologized to his coach in the locker room for having lost the game 27-26. That’s the same energy Scheffler showed: pure, unfiltered frustration that top performers can’t fake.

Scheffler isn’t known for showing his frustration, though. But the shouting, and the visible anger on 17 – it’s all new, and McAfee is all-in for this version of Scottie as well. The T-4 finish, the missed putts, all of it signals Scottie’s still fighting, and still demanding perfection from himself even when the ball won’t cooperate.

Scottie Scheffler will undoubtedly bounce back. The real test will be whether he can channel that frustration without losing the calm that made him a champion. Pat McAfee is betting that he will. The rest of golf is waiting to see if the “dawg” stays unleashed.