Luka Dončić spent his Saturday at the Open Championship, and it had nothing to do with basketball.

The Lakers star showed up at Royal Birkdale during the third round to watch Scottie Scheffler, the golfer he's been telling people is his favorite to watch. Dončić spent part of the afternoon walking the course, taking pictures with fans, and geeking out over Scheffler's technique off the tee.

The British Open shared a video of the visit on its official Instagram handle on Saturday, captioning it: "When Luka Dončić met Scottie Scheffler."

"His swing is super nice," Doncic said of Scheffler in the video. "That might be the nicest swing. But yeah, he's my favorite player."

Dončić also shared about his own round at nearby Hillside Golf Club during the trip, and that the course gave him more trouble than he expected, even as his game keeps improving.

At the end of the video, Dončić and Scottie meet behind the scenes, share a handshake, and briefly chat about Luka's newfound interest in golf.

"Yeah, I heard you got the bug, so that's cool," Scheffler told Dončić with a laugh.

Golf Channel later ran its own sit-down interview with Dončić at Birkdale to discuss his golf obsession, Scottie Scheffler, and swing.

Long before he started following golf, he already knew Scheffler from his Dallas days.

"Scottie's from Dallas. He came to a couple games, you know, so that's how I saw him," Dončić told Golf Channel. "Back then, I didn't know really much about golf, so now I cheer for him."

Dončić's Newfound Golf Obsession

Dončić's golf obsession has been building for a while now, not something that started this week in England. Back in March, he was part of a Lakers team golf outing during a nine-game winning streak, playing alongside LeBron James, Austin Reaves, Bronny James and members of the coaching staff as an off-day bonding session.

Since then, he's kept at it. Teammate Austin Reaves, one of the more accomplished golfers in the NBA, said Dončić regularly sends him swing videos looking for feedback, adding, "He's one of my best friends on this planet."

But the relationship works both ways. Scheffler grew up in the Dallas area and has never been shy about his devotion to the Mavericks, even after the Dončić trade left plenty of the fan base still processing it months later.

Ahead of the 2025 Memorial Tournament, a reporter asked if he’d been following the NBA playoffs. “No, not since the Mavs didn’t make it,” Scheffler answered. Then came the follow-up: Who did he want to win the title? “The Mavericks,” he said with a straight face. 

 At the 2025 U.S. Open, he was even more honest: “Ever since the Mavs traded Luka, I’ve just been a little bit, you know… a little bummed watching the NBA. It hurts a little bit still. We'll have to regroup and get ready for next season for the Mavs.”

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Written by

Md Saife Fida