How 'Tiger-like' Scheffler is conquering golf

BBC News

7 days ago

As Scottie Scheffler steamrolled his way to the Claret Jug, there was another name which kept being mentioned in the discourse surrounding his impending Open victory.Tiger Woods. Remember him?Scheffler's peers regularly referred to Woods when they came off the Royal Portrush course last Sunday. So too did the television and radio commentators analysing the action.The comparisons between the current world number one and 15-time major champion Woods - the pre-eminent superstar who elevated golf to a new stratosphere in the late 1990s and early 2000s - continued in the aftermath of Scheffler's fourth major title.An eye-catching statistic further fuelled the frenzy. Exactly 1,197 days had passed between each player's first major win to their fourth.Scheffler's response to the parallels being drawn? "I still think they're a bit silly," he said."I just got one-fourth of the way there. I think Tiger stands alone in the game of golf."One thing is undebatable. Scheffler is conquering the men's game like nobody since Woods in his pomp. Here, BBC Sport analyses how the 29-year-old American is doing it.
Creating a 'Tiger-like' dominance
The first sign of Scheffler's special qualities came at the 2021 Ryder Cup.Questions had been raised about the young American being picked as a Whistling Straits wildcard, but the manner in which he bossed European talisman Jon Rahm in the Sunday singles - putting the hosts on the path to a rare routine win - was a sign of things to come.In the four seasons since, Scheffler has won four of the 15 majors - the 2022 and 2023 Masters, plus this year's US PGA Championship and Open - and earned a further eight top-10 finishes. Throw in 12 PGA Tour victories, along with the Olympic gold medal at Paris 2024, and it is clear why he is the undisputed world number one."Scottie is the bar that we're all trying to get to," said world number two Rory McIlroy."You could argue there's only maybe two or three players in the history of the game that have been on a run like the one that Scottie's been for the past 24 to 36 months."
One of those players is - obviously - Woods.By securing victory at Portrush, Scheffler became only the second player to win The Open while world number one. The first was Woods, who did it three times in 2000, 2005 and 2006.Scheffler's machine-like ability, which is apparent even when he does not seem to be playing at his peak, is similar to his fellow American.It is little wonder several of his peers have described Scheffler this week as being "Tiger-like"."I don't think we thought the golfing world would see someone as dominant as Tiger come through so soon and here's Scottie taking that throne," said 2024 Open champion Xander Schauffele."He's a tough man to beat, and when you see his name up on the leaderboard, it sucks for us."For some, the parallels between Scheffler and Woods - who has claimed a joint record 82 PGA Tour victories - might feel premature.Scheffler has a long way to go to match the longevity of his compatriot, whose major triumphs stretched from 1997 to 2019.But the comparisons continue to persist because of the way Scheffler imperiously tears through fields like Woods did in his pomp.
At Portrush, there was a sense of inevitability about the outcome once Scheffler moved four shots ahead after Saturday's third round.His unerring consistency and ruthless ability to close out victories is what sets him apart from the rest.It was the 10th tournament in a row Scheffler had converted an outright 54-hole lead, although he still has a long way to go before matching the 37 consecutive times which Woods did it. "Back in the day that's what separated Tiger," said English former world number one Justin Rose."You get a lot of guys leading tournaments and typically it is hard to close out, but Scottie and Tiger are able to put these tournaments away better than most. "That's how you are judged at the end of the day."
Staying emotionless in the heat of battle
Scheffler's emotionless expression as he patiently and precisely carved up the Dunluce Links was a far cry from the energy often shown by Woods.On a final Sunday lacking any sort of jeopardy, one of the most colourful moments came on the sixth green. There was a rare flicker of emotion from Scheffler.A vigorous pump of the fist signalled his pleasure at dropping one of several par-saving putts on his way to glory.Those who demand high-octane energy from their sporting stars were disappointed. But Scheffler's calm demeanour is exactly why he is so successful."He doesn't care to be a superstar. He's not transcending the game like Tiger did," said Jordan Spieth, who a decade ago was being compared to Woods after winning three majors and finishing runner-up in two others between 2015-17."I think it's more so the difference in personality from any other superstar that you've seen in the modern era and maybe in any sport. "I don't think anybody is like him."While Scheffler's mind is mechanical, his technique is not. His unorthodox footwork looks clumsy at times and is another reason - according to Ireland's Shane Lowry - why many do not consider him in the same breath as Woods. "If Scottie's feet stayed stable and his swing looked like Adam Scott's, we'd be talking about him in the same words as Tiger," said Lowry, who won his solitary major at Royal Portrush in 2019. "I think because it doesn't look so perfect, we don't talk about him like that. "I think he's just incredible to watch, and his bad shots are really good. That's when you know he's really good."
Having the inner fire to be the best
As soon as Scheffler's long-time coach Randy Smith spotted the youngster at their practice range in Dallas, he knew there was something which set the kid apart.Smith was working with PGA Tour professional Joel Edwards and saw 10-year-old Scheffler, sat crosslegged nearby, absorbing everything he witnessed."He's not comparing himself to other eight-year-olds or other 10-year-olds," Smith, who also coached Justin Leonard to the 1997 Open, wrote for Golf Digest last year., external"He's comparing himself to a player on the Korn Ferry Tour, a PGA Tour winner or to the guy who just won the Open Championship."Scheffler successfully put what he had learned into practice on the US junior circuit, then started cleaning up in the collegiate game as he juggled his golf with a finance degree at the University of Texas.The inevitable move into the professional ranks came in 2018. But it was not a straightforward introduction.Scheffler had to scrap for his qualifying card to the Korn Ferry Tour, only clinching his playing status in 2019 with a dramatic up-and-down par save - which he later described as the most important scramble of his career.From that point, his career accelerated. In 2020, Scheffler earned the first major top-10 finish of his career at the PGA Championship and his development led to being named the PGA Tour's 'Rookie of the Year'.A year later came the Ryder Cup breakthrough which marked his arrival as an elite force.
"What separates Scottie is his fire," Smith added."It's not just competitiveness - though he has more of that than anyone I've ever coached."It's the pure love of practicing and experimenting and learning things on your own. It's determination."At the start of this Open week, many wondered if the fire continued to burn.Scheffler raised eyebrows by admitting he regularly questions why he is still playing golf and lamented how he has little opportunity to digest his triumphs.But the manner in which he celebrated winning the iconic Claret Jug - roaring towards his loved ones before sobbing on the shoulder of his wife Meredith and hoisting son Bennett into the air - demonstrated his burning desire to win majors had not fanned."When I wake up in the morning, I try and put max effort in each day I get to go out and practise," he said."When I'm working out, when I'm doing the cold tub, doing recovery, I feel like I'm just called to do it to the best of my ability. "It's just mostly about putting in the proper work and coming out here and competing."
Improving weaknesses in his game
Even after he had climbed to the top of the world rankings, there were some doubts about Scheffler's game.The statistics proved he was the best from tee to green. They also proved he was among the worst with the putter.A call was made to English putting guru Phil Kenyon - whose client list is a who's who of major champions - in a bid to improve with the flatstick.Attention was particularly paid to Scheffler's reading of the greens and increasing the stability of his grip.Switching to a claw grip - where the right hand acts as a pincer lower down the shaft - has transformed Scheffler into one of the most reliable putters in the game.The tweak helped him become the first player to defend the PGA Tour's Players Championship, win a second Masters, Olympic gold and five other titles in a stellar 2024 that also had echoed Woods.Leading the putting statistics after three rounds at Portrush, having holed 97% of his putts inside five feet and 90% of those within 10 feet, put him in command. He holed putts of 14, 15 and 16 feet on Sunday."[The grip] was something we tested out last year and felt comfortable from the start," Scheffler said."I use it as we get closer to the hole, lag putting. Outside of 15 to 20 feet, I'm still putting conventional."It was something we felt could help us improve, and so far it has."While improved putting has taken Scheffler to Woods-esque heights, will it help him move closer to replicating Woods' achievements over the longer term? That remains to be seen.