Eponymously star-crossed
There once were two men called David Russell who competed on the DP World Tour. One was DJ, and one was DA. Inevitably there came the day when DJ was leading and was described as DA and another day when DA was the story and was reported as DJ. In an echo of that Dinah Washington song “What a difference a day makes…” you might say what a difference an A makes on one day and a J makes on another. Imagine the fun and frustration of mixing up the two.
Rather like confusing Bernard Gallacher, captain of the 1993 Europe Ryder Cup team, with Jim Gallagher, a member of Tom Watson’s U.S. team in that same match. One letter between two men. How could that matter?
Oh, goodness. What’s in a letter? What’s in a name?
And now we have Xander Schauffele, a man whose first name takes us through the alphabet from A to X, and Scottie Scheffler. Is this golf or a game of Scrabble with names that would win a lot of points?
Just to add to the confusion, Scheffler is ranked world No. 1 and Schauffele world No. 2, so they are vying with each other not only for the number of vowels and consonants in their names but for supremacy in golf.
The letters “X” and “S” as in their first names are only five letters apart in the alphabet. Their surnames begin with the same letter. Are people confused? They can be.
One irregular golf watcher mused as follows recently. “Scottie Schauffele, he’s the one who went to jail in that big event near where the Derby is held, isn’t he?”
“And Xander Scheffler, didn’t he win that golf competition in that state they call a ‘commonwealth?’ That’s right, isn’t it?”
Actually, no. It’s wrong but understandable. Scottie Scheffler is the one who went to jail, and Xander Schauffele is the newly crowned PGA champion.
Gentlemen, please spare a thought for the viewer, the listener, the casual fan. It’s hard explaining the origins of the game’s avian terms – albatross, eagle, birdie – though not so hard as understanding the importance of silly mid-on and silly mid-off, two very important terms in cricket – but not as easy as ABC, either.
Come on, Scottie Schauffele; come on, Xander Scheffler. Keep dazzling us with your golf and forgive us for misspelling, mispronouncing or simply muddling up your names.
John Hopkins
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Top: Xander Schauffele and Scottie Scheffler during the 2024 Masters
BEN JARED, PGA TOUR VIA GETTY IMAGE