Scottie Scheffler v everybody: The Open champion is making his case among the greats

Straits Times

7 days ago

US golfer Scottie Scheffler with the Claret Jug after his victory in the 153rd Open Championship at Royal Portrush on July 20.
NEW YORK – As Tiger Woods wrapped up his eight-shot British Open victory at St. Andrews in 2000, his second consecutive blowout at a major, exasperation swept through pro golf.
'He's the best who ever played,' Mark Calcavecchia said that Sunday, 'and he's 24.'
'He is the best player in the world by a long, long way, and we have got to raise our standards to join his,' Colin Montgomerie said.
'He's got to leave a few for his friends, doesn't he?' Jean van de Velde said. 'He can't have them all.'
Ernie Els said: 'The guy is unbelievable, man. I'm running out of words. Give me a break.'
Oh, how eerily similar those sentiments sound after Scottie Scheffler's four-shot domination last Sunday at Royal Portrush Golf Club for his fourth major championship in four years and third in eight starts.
'Scottie Scheffler is – it's inevitable,' Rory McIlroy said.
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'Four shots behind, kind of like playing for second,' Li Haotong said.
It is time to have that conversation about where Scheffler belongs in golf history. First, it was only that he was the best ball striker since Woods. Then it was that his season was the best individual one since Woods'. But this is no longer simply a nice run or a great peak. We are now at four, steady, undeniable years of golf so much better than any peer. Scheffler is not only the best of his era; he is among the greatest to play the sport.
With his fourth major championship, Scheffler earned the third leg of the career Grand Slam. But he is just the fourth golfer to win the Masters, the PGA Championship and British Open all before age 30. His company? Woods, Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player.
Scheffler is one of three players since 1934, the year of the first Masters, to win four or more major titles by at least three strokes. The others are Woods (seven wins) and Nicklaus (six).
DataGolf created a metric called DG Points that interweaves advanced statistics with tangible accomplishments to rank the best golf seasons since 1983. Scheffler's last four all rank in the top 20. Of the past 42 years in golf, 12 of the 20 best seasons are owned by Woods or Scheffler. Nobody else has more than two.
Scheffler's career in totality cannot be properly judged until it is over. His current run may be far greater than any peak in Phil Mickelson's career, but we cannot argue against six majors, 45 PGA Tour wins and 21 1/2 Ryder Cup points. At least not yet.
The pain and beauty of golf reside in the understood vulnerability that it could all end at any moment. Woods' career is primarily divided into two all-time three-year runs with relative lulls in between. McIlroy won four majors in four years. Brooks Koepka won four in three. Jordan Spieth won three in three. All of them experienced dramatic dips shortly after.
Look at the timeline comparing McIlroy's and Scheffler's pace to winning four majors. McIlroy was four years younger, but the pace is identical in terms of major starts. It is a reminder that what feels inevitable rarely is. It took another 39 major starts for McIlroy to win his fifth.
With that said, there is zero indication that Scheffler's pace will slow. He has won four of his last eight tournaments, including two majors, and has not been worse than eighth since March.
He is no longer competing with the greats of this era. He is competing with the greatest in history.
It can be unfortunate when we reduce golf greatness to major championships. It is the most important test of that greatness, absolutely, but it does not paint the entire picture.
McIlroy's peak came the closest, winning four majors from 2011-14. He won 12 times worldwide, and his 2012 and 2014 seasons rank in the DG Points top 20. At the height of his 2014 peak, though, he was gaining 2.40 strokes on the field per round. Impressive, but Adam Scott, Jim Furyk and Justin Rose were right behind him at 2.23, 2.23 and 2.05.
Scheffler is gaining 3.10 strokes on the field. Next best is McIlroy at 2.10, followed by Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau. That is an average, with recency weighed heavier, across the last 150 rounds, so nearly the past two years of golf. These four years, Scheffler has won 20 times worldwide, and counting.
McIlroy finished top five 37 times in those four years. Scheffler has finished there 48 times (and it is just July).
Mickelson's longevity is his superpower, but he never had a single season rank in the DG top 30. His career peak was averaging 2.41 strokes gained on the field in 2000. Scheffler has been above that for three years straight.
No, the actual comparisons for Scheffler's four-year transcendence are the names you are never supposed to compare anyone to.
Tom Watson won five majors from 1980-83, easily the best run of anyone between Nicklaus and Woods. Watson finished in the top 10 an absurd 11 times in those 16 starts. Since the start of 2022, Scheffler has four wins with 12 top 10s. If we avoid going too deep into the quality of competition argument, those are remarkably similar runs. Watson finished with eight majors across nine years.
Lee Trevino won four majors in four years from 1971-74 (despite skipping two Masters), but he had only seven top-10 finishes and plenty where he missed the cut or was outside the top 30.
What will be interesting to follow, though, is Watson's best four-year run came right in the middle of an overall nine-year prime. He won majors before and after that run. This Scheffler four-year run is just the beginning. We do not even know if these will be his best four years.
That's the thing about Scheffler. He has continued to get better. His 2023 season was the greatest strokes gained approach season since Woods. The next two years have been far better. For much of his rise, he was a below-average putter. He is now top 10 in the world on the greens. His 2024 season was rightfully called one of the four or five best seasons in golf history; he won nine times worldwide.
But the point of this is all to say: Scheffler is no longer just comparing himself to his peers. His greatness has only the absolute pantheon left to chase. NYTIMES