Considering the quality of Scottie Scheffler’s golf over the past 18 months, it’s little wonder why he has drawn comparisons with Tiger Woods.
Scheffler is the current world number one, by quite some distance, and Woods knows all about being in that position.
The 49-year-old holds the record for most consecutive weeks spent at the top of the world rankings, with 281 weeks.
Scheffler has been world number one for 118 consecutive weeks, so he will need to hold his position at the top until October 2028 to match Woods’ record.
The man from Dallas, Texas, has won 18 PGA Tour titles since February 2022, including four major championships, as well as two Hero World Challenge triumphs and an Olympic gold medal.
Comparisons have been made between Scheffler and Woods, due to the 29-year-old’s incredible win rate and remarkable consistency.
Brandt Snedeker recently suggested that Scheffler could even be better than Woods.
He has a long way to go to match the 15-time major champion’s record, but he’s certainly on track to do exactly that.
Scottie Scheffler says what shocked him about Tiger Woods
Scheffler played alongside Woods at Augusta National during the 2020 Masters.
Neither played their best, and they were lingering around the top-20 when Woods made a 10 on the par-three 12th hole.
He then bounced back with five birdies in his final six holes. The mentality required to do that can only be described as elite.
Ahead of the Tour Championship, Scheffler was asked what he makes of the comparisons being made between him and Woods.
He said: “I mean, I think it’s a greater discussion. I think in the simplest form, I think it’s very silly to be compared to Tiger Woods. I think Tiger is a guy that stands alone in the game of golf, and I think he always will. Tiger inspired a whole generation of golfers. You’ve grown up watching that guy do what he did week in, week out, it was pretty amazing to see.
“I talk about a mental change I made because I played one round of golf with him in a tournament. I’ve only played one round of tournament golf with Tiger Woods, and it completely changed the way I look at how I play tournaments.
“I can’t tell you the look on his face when we got to the 1st green, and I look over, and we’re in 20th place, kind of playing, yada, yada, yada, and I look over and this guy is just locked in, and I was taken aback. I was like, holy smokes. Then we got to the 2nd hole, and he had this chip shot and he looked at it like it was an up-and-down to win the tournament. I’m like, this is incredible. I’ve never seen anything like this before in my life.
“I think he completely transcended the game of golf, and I think when it comes to me, I don’t even like comparisons to other players because I think when we come out here, I’m doing the best I can to be the best version of myself. I don’t think about legacy, I don’t think about the past. I try to get the most out of myself each week.
“I just don’t really love the comparisons at all.“
Scottie Scheffler on what he noticed about Tiger Woods on the first hole at Augusta
Scheffler was immediately struck by Tiger’s focus and concentration at the 2020 Masters, despite the fact that he had no chance of winning the tournament that year.
He said: “The reason I felt like I hadn’t won yet is I hadn’t put myself in position enough times. I’d only played in a couple final groups. I always found myself just a little bit on the outside looking in, and that’s one of the things I learned from playing with Tiger.
“It was like, we’re in 20th place or whatever going into Sunday at the Masters, Tiger has won five Masters, he’s got no chance of winning the tournament. Then we showed up on the 1st hole and I was watching him read his putt, and I was like, oh, my gosh, this guy is in it right now.
“That was something that I just thought about for a long time. I felt like a change I needed to make was bringing that same intensity to each round and each shot. And I feel like the reason I’ve had success in these tournaments is — I don’t hit the ball the furthest. The things that I do on the golf course, other people can do. I think it’s just the amount of consistency and the intensity that I bring to each round of golf is not taking shots off, not taking rounds off, not taking tournaments off.
“When I show up at a tournament, I’m here for a purpose and that’s to compete hard, and you compete hard on every shot. I think it’s a lot easier said than done, and I think I’ve been in a good head space the last couple years where I’ve been able to stand up over a ball and focus on what I’m doing and just try and pull it off.“
Ever since then, Scheffler has turned up to every tournament with total concentration and full commitment to win, just like Woods did in his prime.
With the world number one ready to compete every time he tees it up on a Thursday, he already has a big advantage over everyone else in the field.
Receive exclusive golf news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
