Scottie Scheffler has flown out of the blocks with his first three results on the PGA Tour in 2026, with his worst finish so far being a tie for fourth.
Many of us were intrigued to see whether Scottie Scheffler could sustain his dominance into 2026. You would have to go back to The Players Championship for the last time the world number one finished outside the top eight in any event.
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That run of top eight finishes is rapidly approaching a full year. He already has one win under his belt this season, while he has finished inside the top five at both the WM Phoenix Open and the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
But his results do not tell the full story by any means.
What has been ‘crazy’ about Scottie Scheffler at the start of 2026
Scheffler has seemingly taken himself out of contention on Thursday at both TPC Scottsdale and Pebble Beach. He opened up in Phoenix with a 73, and was only one shot better this past week.
And yet, the 29-year-old was one shot off making a playoff in Arizona. He also ended up with the clubhouse lead late on Sunday at the first signature event of the year.
Speaking on 5 Clubs, Taylor Zarzour claimed that Scheffler not firing on all cylinders makes what he is achieving right now all the more impressive.
“I expected the best season of his career, and I continue to expect that. It’s because the guy has complete health, and as we saw on Sunday, he’s the best putting version of himself he’s ever been. You put those two factors into play, on top of the fact he’s already the best player in the game, I do expect this to continue to be something to watch over the course of the next couple of months,” he said.
“Now, he’s had some bad Thursdays, two in a row, and if you keep having those, then the chances are the streak’s going to end at some point here in the next couple of months. What is crazy is the guy has had two straight top fives and he’s fighting his golf swing a little bit right now! He’s digging it out of the dirt over the course of four days, but he’s come to two straight tournaments not really sure about where the golf ball is going.
“There’s nothing better than the Tiger Woods cut streak of over 140 in a row, back when a cut really mattered every single week in a full field on the PGA Tour, but if this guy gets to 25 straight top 10s, you have to put that on one hand of the great achievements that’s ever happened in the game.”
Scottie Scheffler’s rivals are in big trouble once he figures everything out
Some of the shots Scheffler has hit this season have been particularly baffling. There have been moments over the last two weeks when he appears to have got his club selection all wrong and thrown away a golden birdie opportunity.
He also showed on Sunday at Pebble Beach that he is prepared to be more aggressive and take on more pins in his push to win. Unfortunately, that strategy did not quite pay off.
Scheffler’s strokes gained numbers so far this season speak to Zarzour’s point that he is not quite at his best.
If someone had been told that he would be 51st for strokes gained approach after three events, they probably assume that he had recently made the mistake of attempting homemade pasta with a wine glass as his only utensil again.
And yet, Scheffler still has not finished outside of the top four. It is scarcely believable.
The concern for his rivals will be that Scheffler manages to figure things out just as the major championship season arrives.
There is definitely the potential for Scheffler to break all kinds of records over the coming months.
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