PGA Tour veteran says if players are now as worried by Scottie Scheffler on the leaderboard as they were by Tiger Woods

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Ryan Palmer is clearly a huge fan of Scottie Scheffler, and he praised Tiger Woods to the hilt as well.

It’s a common debate amongst golfing circles right now – is Scheffler the second coming of Woods?

The numbers the 28-year-old from Dallas is putting up this season show that he is playing to the same level as the 15-time major champion in his prime, if not better.

Back in 2024, Woods suggested that if Scheffler putts well he is almost guaranteed to win.

And that has proven to be the case over the past year or so. In fact, even when the three-time major winner putts below an average standard, he still usually wins.

Jason Day recently suggested that the only difference between Scheffler and Woods is that the former isn’t as theatrical when he plays.

That’s a fair assumption. The current world number one shows next to no emotion out on the golf course, whether he makes a bogey or a birdie, nothing changes.

But how do players who have competed against both Scheffler and Woods compare the two specifically when it comes to seeing their names on leaderboards?

Ryan Palmer makes Scottie Scheffler and Tiger Woods comparison

Texas native Ryan Palmer is in a unique position to judge who has the bigger impact on other tour players when their names pop up on leaderboards.

That’s because the 48-year-old has played and competed against both players in their primes.

Palmer is clearly a huge fan of Scheffler, and he obviously was in awe of the impact that Woods had when he was at his best as well.

Firstly, he responded to a question asking him what makes Scheffler so good, during an appearance on SiriusXM PGA Tour Radio.

The PGA Tour veteran said, “His misses are 15 feet from the hole, it’s plain and simple. The way he strikes the golf ball, he drives the ball well obviously. You’ve got a guy who can putt average and win, putt good and lap the field, putt bad and be in contention. It just shows you what he’s doing from tee to green. What he and Randy Smith have been doing, it’s been fun to watch and see what he’s been doing. He’s attacking golf courses like there’s nothing to it. He can attack any pin because of how high and straight he hits it. His misses, he’s got 20 feet for birdie, where a lot of guys’ misses are maybe 40 or 50 feet. It’s a different game to watch. He’s the guy you’ve got to watch and beat.”

Palmer was then asked if players on tour look at Scheffler’s name on a leaderboard in the same way they did when Tiger Woods was in contention.

“I don’t know if we’ll get to the panic level we had with Tiger,“ Palmer explained. “Tiger’s panic level was on a different scale. When you were in that arena with Tiger, it was eight feet on every side of the fairway. When you pulled into the parking lot, you knew Tiger was playing. That was what was so unique about the Tiger era. Something he brought when he was there. Scottie brings it too, don’t get me wrong. At the Memorial on Saturday morning when I saw the run he had I was like, ‘he’s going to win, watch this guys’. With Tiger, it was almost like he didn’t have to do anything because the other guys are going to falter. With Scottie, if you don’t play good, you’re not beating Scottie.”

Scottie Scheffler vs Tiger Woods results compared

The 49-year-old sits head and shoulders above every other golfer who is currently still playing.

However, Scheffler has the form, mentality and crucially, age still very much on his side.

Here is how their results compare alongside one another.

Scheffler is clearly a long way behind Woods in every category, but he will unquestionably close that gap significantly over the next 10 years or so.

It will be really interesting to see what Scheffler can achieve, if he is able to reach around 10 major wins and 50 or 60 PGA Tour titles by the time he’s 40.

It’s clear to see he already has the same advantage that Tiger did, and that is that 90% of the field know they’re beaten immediately when they see his name on the leaderboard.