Following a difficult second round at the U.S. Open, Scottie Scheffler had a usual practice session. However, the frustration boiled over as he and his golf coach “got going at each other a little bit,

The 125th U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club is already proving to be a brutal test for the world’s best golfers. J.J. Spaun stunned everyone by carding a bogey-free 66, only the second such round ever at a U.S. Open held at Oakmont to grab the lead on Thursday. He sits at 4-under, just ahead of Thriston Lawrence at 3-under.

The other tricky element in this conversation? The manager he was looking at, Blake Smith, was the son of Scheffler’s lifelong coach. Randy Smith had helped mold Scheffler from a precocious little 7-year-old at Royal Oaks Country Club to one of the best ball strikers in golf history. These dynamics can be tricky.

The world No. 1 shot even par Saturday, his best U.S. Open round in his last seven, and sits at 4 over with only an outside chance Sunday.

The ridiculously high standards that Scottie Scheffler has set the last 3 ½ years often lead to even higher expectations, which makes his start at the U.S. Open feel like such an anomaly.

Scottie Scheffler pays attention to the leaderboard, though it usually doesn’t matter. He watched during the PGA Championship in May and saw his five-shot lead wiped away by Jon Rahm nine holes into the final round.

Scottie Scheffler's practice routine is an exercise in discipline. He goes through the same checklist every time, with the same set of drills. And while some—or most—golfers would get bored doing that,