Should Scottie Scheffler go and write his name alongside the greatest to have ever played the game of golf, his 2024 season is likely to be looked back upon as the moment he established himself as a superstar.
Of course, Scottie Scheffler‘s rise to being the best player in the world has taken a lot longer than one year, but something has changed for the 28-year-old over the last 12 months. Perhaps it is down to the improvement with his putting, but it seems that Scheffler has largely shut the door on his rivals.
The highlight is surely his second Masters win, but he also won a number of signature events, including Bay Hill, The Players Championship, and The Memorial. And he has now clinched his first Tour Championship crown after beating Collin Morikawa at East Lake.
It has almost been a perfect year for Scheffler, but there is still something that does not sit quite right with the American following the end of the PGA Tour season.
Scottie Scheffler shares what he finds weird after his win at the Olympics
The PGA Tour recognises Scheffler’s season including seven victories, with his Olympic gold medal at Le Golf National not included on that list. Speaking after The Tour Championship, Scheffler insisted that he was baffled as to why his victory in France is somewhat overlooked.
“Yeah, it’s great. Still don’t understand why the Olympics doesn’t count. That’s a bit weird to me. I think that’s part of the greed that goes on in your brain is you say seven, I’m like, I won eight. I won the Olympics in the middle of the year, and for some reason it doesn’t count as an official PGA TOUR win. It counts the same as – no offence to the Hero – but it counts the same as the Hero World Challenge in the grand scheme of things,” he said.
“But overall, it’s been a great year. I’m proud of the results. It’s something I try not to focus too much on, but at the end of the day, being able to win tournaments is a great feeling, and it’s what we work towards, and to be able to have as many wins as I have this year is really special.”
An important victory in France
Scheffler’s win in France has definitely played its part in giving Olympic golf more credibility, with so many top names battling for the medals down the stretch on Sunday. It was obviously the first time since the sport’s return to the Games where the event did not run into any significant problems.
So perhaps it is a matter of time before the PGA Tour changes its stance and recognises those victories in the future.
Certainly, most golf fans probably acknowledge that Scheffler secured eight superb wins throughout the year, with a genuine debate to be had over which was his best and most significant victory of the season.
Some will surely point to what he did at the Olympics – when Scheffler shot an incredible 29 on the back nine on Sunday – as the standout.
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