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For many athletes winning is not only everything, it’s the only thing. You work your whole life chasing after one goal and achieving it is the height of your career.
Or maybe it isn’t. As high as the heights of victory can be, that feeling can be just as fleeting. When the crowd fades, the confetti and the champagne is swept up and the trophy is on the shelf, it can feel like just any other day, or worse.
Golf star and PGA Tour Champion Scottie Scheffler can relate to that feeling. Scheffler is the number one ranked golfer in the world and recently won the 2025 Open Championship, his second major victory of the year. Despite his success, Scheffler had had some thoughts about what success meant for him.
In a press conference video posted by BBCsport on Instagram, Scheffler spoke about how “golf is not a fulfilling life” and how temporary the euphoria of winning is, even when it’s extra special.
“To win the Byron Nelson Championship at home, I literally worked my entire life… to have an opportunity to win that tournament,” Scheffler said. “You celebrate, get to hug my family, my sister’s there… then it’s like, ‘Okay, now what are we going to eat for dinner?'”
Scheffler continued, “To get to live out your dreams is very special but at the end of the day… I’m not here to inspire someone else to be the best player in the world, because what’s the point?”
Scheffler isn’t the only one to feel this way. Golden State Valkyries center Temi Fagbenle reposted the story of Scheffler and added a message of her own.
“Tell me about it bro,” she captioned her Instagram story.
Fabgenle has enjoyed her own success, becoming a champion of both EuroCup and the Women’s British Basketball League in 2024 and winning a WNBA Finals with the Minnesota Lynx in 2017.
Maybe Fagbenle will find more meaningful success going forward with the Valkyries. Golden State is currently 10-12, but with plenty of games left to play, the Valkyries still have a chance to push for the playoffs.
