One of the players who arguably faced the hardest task on the PGA Tour in 2025 was Scottie Scheffler, with the world number one somehow looking to follow the remarkable nine wins he had worldwide in the previous year.
Scottie Scheffler had one of the all-time great years in 2024, with a second major title and an Olympic gold medal amongst his raft of triumphs. There was an argument Scheffler’s year could be put alongside Tiger Woods’ better seasons.
Plenty of eyes were on how Scheffler would fare in 2025. Of course, he missed the opening weeks of the season due to a hand injury sustained at Christmas. However, it was almost ominous that he still managed to register a top 10 at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am upon his return.
It is hard to imagine what sort of goals Scheffler may set for himself over the coming months. How exactly can the 28-year-old expect to improve upon what he did in 2024?
Scottie Scheffler shares what Justin Thomas does which he avoids
It seems however, that Scheffler is not going to be setting goals for himself. Speaking ahead of the WM Phoenix Open, Scheffler shared how he stops short of identifying specific targets for the year – unlike someone like Justin Thomas.
“Yeah, so I’m a little bit different in a sense of I don’t really sit down at the beginning of the year and set goals for myself. I have for my career some dreams and aspirations that I think of, but throughout my day-to-day, I don’t ever think of it,” he said.
“It’s just kind of what works for me. You look at a guy like JT, what works really well for him over the years has been writing down his goals at the beginning of the year and then looking and seeing how he did at the end of the year. But for me, what’s worked best for me is always staying in the present and trying to get a little bit better at a time.
“I try not to look too far down the road. I think if I told myself this year I want to win five times, let’s just say, hypothetical, I want to win five times this year, I want to win a major, I would look at the year and be like, I’ve got plenty of time to win five times. It’s only February; I’ve got until September to win those tournaments. I may get a little bit lazy, may start thinking too far ahead.
“So for me, I try to do my best to focus on the task at hand, and that’s this week. We’ve got a great golf course and a great field and some great fans, and I’m looking forward to a fun week here.”
Why copying Scheffler is so difficult for PGA Tour players
If the last few years have taught the golfing world anything, it is that Scheffler’s process will not work for everyone. Obviously, it seems fair to say that his footwork in the golf swing is unique and unlike almost anything else you will see on the PGA Tour.
Meanwhile, he appears to begin every range session with the same grip training aid. You can imagine that that would become extremely monotonous for many of his peers.
He is unlikely to change anything he does while everything seems to be working so well right now. Certainly, identifying the number of victories he wants would only add to the pressure, particularly if he gets off to a slow start.
Thomas is someone who is looking to get back to his very best, so it perhaps makes a lot more sense when he is searching for that magic formula.
But Scheffler probably feels that he does not have to change a thing about his process right now.
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