One of the main problems the PGA Tour has faced since Tiger Woods was at the peak of his powers was finding a successor who would stand a chance of making anything like the same impact as the 15-time major champion once his better days were behind him.
Rory McIlroy definitely came along at the right time. McIlroy seemed to have the ability to blow fields away like Tiger Woods would, while the Northern Irishman had the talent to produce the kind of shots that almost no-one else seemed capable of.
Of course, golf does have a new superstar on the course, with Scottie Scheffler enjoying the kind of season which arguably put him alongside some of the best to ever do it, when it comes to the greatest years of all-time.
Scheffler won nine times worldwide in 2024. And, while he only won one major, he seemed to triumph in all of the flagship events on the PGA Tour. The problem is that the 28-year-old does not tick all of the same boxes as the likes of Woods and McIlroy.
The players who attract better ratings than Scottie Scheffler
And it seems that Scheffler at the summit is not quite as good for business. Speaking on the Fried Egg Golf Podcast, Andy Johnson claimed that it is another name who makes an impact to ratings along with Woods and McIlroy.
“Something that sticks with me, a media executive told me, a broadcast media executive, he said there are two players other than Tiger that move the needle for ratings: Jordan Spieth, Rory McIlroy, and that’s it. Nobody else matters,” he said.
“No-one else matters. And when you look back at ratings, it’s so true. It’s like the only thing that moved the ratings numbers last year on the PGA Tour was Rory McIlroy. Jordan Spieth didn’t have any moments that moved the ratings. But this guy was like, there are two players other than Tiger, and that’s it, that move ratings.”
Why Scheffler may not be the needle-mover for the PGA Tour
Scheffler is so likeable. But he almost suffers because of how consistent he is. He does not make many mistakes at all. In fact, it is notable that plenty of golf fans would probably only need one hand to count the number of times he has really struggled during the year.
The problem perhaps is that Scheffler does not excite fans in the same way Woods or McIlroy do. There is no swagger when he strides down the fairway. He celebrates an outrageous shot by immediately focusing on the next.
Spieth is an interesting inclusion. Of course, the 31-year-old made an unbelievable start to his professional career, after winning the first two majors of 2015. He would move to within one of the career grand slam in 2017.
There was a feeling that Spieth was the player who could move himself alongside the modern greats. And golf fans had not seen him really struggle before he went to the summit.
It would be beneficial to see more of Scheffler’s personality in the years to come. But there seems to be no chance of him changing his strategy just to help improve ratings.
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