If there is one thing left for Scottie Scheffler to prove, it is perhaps that he can win the majors not held at Augusta National, having established himself as the best golfer on the planet right now.
Scottie Scheffler had the kind of 2024 which would represent an amazing career for so many on the PGA Tour. He won the Masters for a second time, the Players Championship for a second time, and at Bay Hill for a second time. Meanwhile, he clinched the Tour Championship and an Olympic gold medal.
He may have slightly mixed feelings about his performance in the majors in 2024. The PGA Championship was obviously overshadowed by his arrest ahead of his second round. Meanwhile, he was one of those in contention on Sunday at The Open until Scheffler essentially four-putted the ninth.
Certainly, he is likely to be a contender for the Masters in 2025, having won at Augusta National in two of the last three years. Meanwhile, the fight which Oakmont forces players to engage in could bring the best out of Scheffler.
The major Smylie Kaufman believes Scottie Scheffler has the least chance of winning in 2025
Elsewhere, the PGA Championship is being held at Quail Hollow and The Open Championship returns to Royal Portrush. Scheffler is yet to look at his best on British shores, but speaking on The Smylie Show, Smylie Kaufman believes it is the trip to Charlotte which could cause the world number one the most problems.
“This is the major that I feel the worst about for Scottie. He can win anywhere, and Scottie’s best is probably as good to beat anybody. But I feel the worst about this one than I do about any of the others, and that’s even with a crazy draw at The Open,” he said.
“I just go back to the Presidents Cup where he was paired with Sam Burns, and Sam had this terrible record and he was the best player at the Presidents Cup that year. Guess who his partner was that week, it was Scottie Scheffler, so I don’t know if there’s any thing to Scottie and Quail Hollow, if he likes it or not. But in my head, I’m thinking have you seen him win there? No. Well, have you seen him win pretty much everywhere? Okay, maybe Scottie Scheffler at Quail Hollow is something, and there’s plenty of guys who have a ton of history there.”
Scheffler’s record at Quail Hollow
It was surprising how much Scheffler struggled at the 2022 Presidents Cup. Him and Burns were the only American pair to not win in the opening session, as they lost to Si-woo Kim and Cam Davis. And Friday’s four ball matches would provide Scheffler’s only half point of the week.
Of course, a lot has changed since then. And it does appear that Scheffler is another of the many elite players who just cannot find quite the same level in matchplay events.
Scheffler has not played in the Wells Fargo Championship – set to be known as the Truist Championship from 2025 – at the course. So there is only a small sample size when it comes to Scheffler and Quail Hollow.
You can understand therefore, why Scheffler may not start the week as the favourite in Kaufman’s mind.
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