Rich Beem has made an eye-catching claim about Scottie Scheffler and Tiger Woods after seeing what happened at The CJ CUP Byron Nelson last week

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It is almost remarkable to think that Scottie Scheffler was still awaiting his first win this year on the PGA Tour one week ago, with the world number one producing such a dominant display at The CJ CUP Byron Nelson.

Scottie Scheffler left the rest of the field behind at TPC Craig Ranch. Scheffler won by eight to secure his first victory on the PGA Tour in 2025. The gap between Scheffler and those tied for fifth was one shot smaller than the gap between those same players and those in 65th.

It was a ruthless statement from the world number one. He had been knocking on the door without ever really looking like winning in the opening months of the year. Certainly, he had not found the gear that so many of his peers could not keep up with in 2024.

But perhaps that has changed after his most recent performance.

How Scottie Scheffler’s performance at The CJ CUP Byron Nelson compared with Tiger Woods

Remarkably, many of those who were in attendance last week believe Scheffler had even more in the tank. In fact, some think that he was not even close to realising his full potential.

Speaking on 5 Clubs, Taylor Zarzour suggested that Rich Beem was so impressed by Scheffler’s performance he put it ahead of arguably the greatest talent to have ever played the game.

“He was closer to 40 under than he was to 30 under. He finished 31 under, and I’m telling you it could have been 40 under. You could argue he shot the worst score he could have shot everyday. He was as close to perfection as you will ever see a professional golfer,” Zarzour said.

“Rich Beem was on the course for us on the world feed, and he was like, ‘I’m telling you guys, I played with Tiger’, obviously Rich beat him in 2002, the PGA, he was like, ‘this is as good a golf as I’ve ever witnessed in person’.”

The largest victories of Tiger Woods’ career

It was the largest winning margin of Scheffler’s career yet. But he has some way to go before he is actually competing with some of the numbers Woods reached.

Of course, many will remember the 2000 US Open when he won by 15, or The Masters three years earlier when he won his first major by 12 shots.

But he actually won 12 72-hole strokeplay events by eight shots or more during his career.

If Scheffler’s performance last week is a sign of what is to come, then you would imagine that he would be able to add to his tally of emphatic victories in the future.

It is frightening to think that there was clearly a lot more Scheffler could have done at TPC Craig Ranch.