Peter Finch makes shock Scottie Scheffler Ryder Cup prediction days before it starts

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Scottie Scheffler has the weight of America on his shoulders as he enters the Ryder Cup in New York.

Featuring a first-time captain, four Ryder Cup rookies, and questionable captain’s picks, Team USA have significant question marks. But Scottie Scheffler is the world number one coming off the back of one of the greatest ever seasons. He is the ultimate X-Factor. 

Scheffler has drawn comparisons to Tiger Woods after his dominant 2025. He won two major championships and is now a U.S. Open away from joining Tiger Woods as one of six players to complete the career grand slam. 

However, going into this Ryder Cup, Peter Finch compared Scheffler to Woods in a less favourable light.

Peter Finch predicts Scottie Scheffler struggles at the Ryder Cup

Woods is considered the greatest of all time, but he has a surprisingly poor Ryder Cup record. Individually, he’s 13-21-3 over eight tournaments, and what’s even more jaw-dropping is Team USA’s 1-7 record in Ryder Cups featuring Woods. 

Even at the peak of his powers between 1997 and 2004, Woods didn’t have a winning record in a single Ryder Cup.

So while many expect Scheffler to tee off at Bethpage Black in his typical dominant fashion, it’s no certainty. Especially after Ludvig Aberg and Victor Hovland handed Scheffler a record-breaking loss in Rome two years ago. 

Peter Finch, speaking on The Rough Cut Golf Podcast, said he expects at least seven of Team USA to have a better Ryder Cup performance than the world number one. 

He said, “I think Scottie Scheffler is not going to have a good Ryder Cup. I think there are going to be more than half of the US Team that will have more wins than him after this Ryder Cup.

“There’s something about Scottie. He’s the best player in the world. He has the best level of any golfer over the last three years, without question. Absolute superstar. The most dominant player since Tiger.

“I just feel like he really, really is like Tiger in so many respects. I think the Ryder Cup is such a different atmosphere. It’s a different type of event.”

Scottie Scheffler says he wasn’t prepared for 2023 Ryder Cup

Team USA were beaten comfortably by Europe in Rome. Europe got off to their best-ever start, going 4-0 to begin Friday foursomes, and they never looked back. 

Nine of the 12 Americans went weeks without competitive action before heading to Rome, something that Scheffler said left him unprepared, as he discussed with reporters at the Procore Championship. 

He explained, “I felt like, for myself going into the last Ryder Cup, my prep work may not have been as good as it should have been. I think I could have been a little bit sharper at that tournament. It’s just because it’s just different playing tournament golf, it really is.

“That was a learning experience for me. Like I said, I learned from it and now we’ll be pretty sharp heading in.”

He continued, “It hurt a little bit because I didn’t feel like I was as prepared as I could have been. So going into this Cup I’ve put a lot of work into my game over the last couple years to get ready and to go play this event.”

Keegan Bradley hasn’t made the same mistake as his predecessor, Zach Johnson, at this year’s Ryder Cup. He had 10 of his 12 players tee off at the Procore in preparation (Bryson DeChambeau was ineligible due to his LIV Golf status, and Xander Schauffele was absent due to the birth of his child).

If Scheffler doesn’t perform at Bethpage, he can’t put it down to a lack of preparation.