With The RSM Classic behind us, the 2024 PGA Tour season is in the books, with a number of standout moments emerging along the way.
Of course, the 2024 season will be remembered as the year of Scottie Scheffler. If the world number one goes on to cement himself as an all-time great, what he achieved this past season will be looked back upon as a defining period.
Scheffler won eight times worldwide, with the highlights potentially being The Masters and the Olympic gold medal. Meanwhile, he won four signature events, as well as The Tour Championship. He also became the first player to retain The Players Championship.
But interestingly, it was a moment involving Scheffler at a tournament he did not actually win which Smylie Kaufman has picked out as his highlight from the year.
Smylie Kaufman picks out Scottie Scheffler moment as his favourite from the 2024 PGA Tour season
Speaking on The Smylie Show, Kaufman suggested that one shot at the Waste Management Phoenix Open gave him an indication of the superstar status Scheffler had secured before the wins started coming thick and fast.
“My favourite moment of this year and he didn’t even win the event, was Scottie Scheffler at the 16th hole on Sunday at the Phoenix Open,” he said.
“He just missed a short birdie putt at 13 and 15 and ended up not winning the golf tournament, but got on 16, had to make a birdie and hit it to like a foot, almost made a hole in one. The place was just like, ‘Scottie, Scottie’, the place was going nuts.
“All I was thinking about at that moment was, man, this is probably like what Tiger felt like. Just the roars of chanting somebody’s name, and in my mind I was thinking this guy’s going to have a year that’s going to be insane. And he did.”
How Scheffler ascended to another level after the 2024 Phoenix Open
Scheffler was actually looking to win his third Phoenix Open title in a row in 2024. It would be the man who finished runner-up to him in 2023 who would emerge triumphant, with Nick Taylor beating Charley Hoffman winning in a play-off.
What is remarkable to think now is that Scheffler had won six times on the PGA Tour before that week in Arizona. He has since won eight times across the globe.
| Before 2024 Phoenix Open | After 2024 Phoenix Open | |
| 1 | Major wins | 1 |
| 5 | PGA Tour wins (regular season) | 5 |
| 0 | Play-off wins | 1 |
| 2023 Hero World Challenge | Other honours | Olympic gold medal |
It has been a meteoric rise for the 28-year-old. He went into the 2021 Ryder Cup – where he was the lowest ranked player on the American side – having not won at all on the PGA Tour.
Just three years later, it appears that Scheffler has everything needed to establish himself as one of the best to ever play the game. The achievements on his resume almost doubled in the space of just seven months in 2024.
What Kaufman saw that day in Phoenix will certainly not be the final time Scheffler sparks scenes in the stands which evoke memories of when Tiger Woods was stealing the show.
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