Two days after the eye-opening deep riff on the meaning of life that world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler delivered in his pre-tournament press conference, he posted a 3-under-par 68 in the first round of the British Open Thursday at Portrush.

The somewhat contradictory answer was that golf does fulfill Scheffler, along with his family, but that if the game ever affected his role as a husband and father he'd quit on the spot. Family matters the most to him, so he ends up asking himself the same question at tournament after tournament:

In a now-viral speech, Scottie Scheffler questioned the fulfillment of winning tournaments and why it matters at Royal Portrush Golf Club ahead of the British Open.

HOME HERO: Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland made a late birdie for a 70 and was three shots behind. The last time he played the British Open at Royal Portrush, he made an 8 on the first hole, shot 79 and wound up missing the cut.

The World No. 1 opened with a 3-under 68 despite hitting just three fairways in sometimes-sideways rain at Royal Portrush.

Spieth entered Portrush with four straight top-25 Open finishes, so there should be plenty of confidence that he turns in a much better round on Friday. Making up a six-shot deficit will be tough, but if Spieth can get to even-par, or even one-under, he'll have a shot to get into the top 10 before the weekend.

Scheffler, the top-ranked player in the world, has three wins on Tour this year, including a major victory at the 2025 PGA Championship. Scheffler finished tied for seventh in last month's U.S. Open and has finished in the top 10 in nine consecutive tournaments.