Golf commentator makes two howlers in 20 seconds when talking about Scottie Scheffler at The Open!

Renowned NBC Sports commentator Steve Sands had a case of brain fog when talking about Scottie Scheffler on the 1st tee during the first round of the 153rd Open.

Sands, who has been part of NBC's golf coverage since 2001, made two wildly inaccurate comments about Scheffler's major career in the space of 20 seconds on Thursday. 

While his first faux pas could be forgiven, his second assertion was baffling to say the least.

As Scheffler stood on the 1st tee ready to begin his first round at the 153rd Open at Royal Portrush alongside playing partners Shane Lowry and Collin Morikawa, long-time golf commentator Sands started things out nicely. 

"Scottie is the number one player in the world and already has a major championship this year," said Sands, correctly referring to Scheffler's 2025 PGA Championship win in May.

But then things took a turn for the worse. 

"It came at Valhalla at the PGA Championship, running away and hiding from the field in Charlotte."

Erm... 

To his credit, after a brief pause, he corrected his mistake with help from his co-commentator Curt Byrum. 

"I'm sorry, did I say Valhalla?" to which Byrum said "Quail Hollow."

"I'm sorry, my fault... I'm thinking it's Xander at Valhalla," said Sands. 

Byrum said: "Well we remember what happened to Scottie Scheffler at Valhalla [in reference to him getting arrested before his second round tee time at the 2024 US PGA]."

"How could we forget that?" replied Sands, who seemingly had forgotten what happened. 

Sands then said: "He's an Open champion as well..." 

I'm sorry, what was that Steve?! 

"All three of these players in game number 20 have won the Claret Jug," asserted Sands, followed by complete silence in the studio. 

Not even Curt could pull him out of this hole. 

Cue Tumbleweed. 

Scroll down to watch what happened...

We can only assume Sands must have had Schauffele, who won The Open last year, suddenly on his mind after being corrected about the last PGA winner at Valhalla.

For those none the wiser, Scheffler is a three-time major champion having won two Masters titles and a US PGA. 

Scheffler has never won The Open, with his best result a T7 at Royal Troon last season. 

That will no doubt happen sooner rather than later, and very possibly this week. 

Lowry and Morikawa are past Open champions, with Lowry winning last time out at Portrush in 2019 and Morikawa winning at Royal St George's in 2021.

Anyway, two howlers from Sands in the space of 20 seconds was impressive, and it did not go unnoticed on social media. 

"Put a lid on it Sandsy," tweeted one fan. 

Another commented: "Unbelievable run from Sands there..."

"The end was perfect, 10/10," wrote another. 

Watch what happened here: 

Believe it or not, it wasn't the only gaffe to unfold in a comms box involving Scheffler during the first round of The Open.

In fact it was nothing compared to this outrageous moment shared between Andrew Cotter and Ken Brown.

The culprit is yet unknown. 

Scheffler went on to card a steady 3-under 68 to lie one shot off the pace after the first 18 holes at The Open. 

He was already a warm 5/1 favourite at the start of the week, and his odds have now been slashed in half down to 5/2. 

Maybe Sands has predicted the future and is already giving Scheffler the Claret Jug this week, who knows?

Lowry opened with a 70 to keep himself in the hunt for back to back Portrush Open wins.

But it was a day to forget for Morikawa, who has Billy Foster on the bag, with a 4-over 75.