ATLANTA — Scottie Scheffler shies away from comparisons to Tiger Woods even as the numbers are starting to make that inevitable.
Scheffler has been No. 1 in the world longer than anyone since Woods. He is the first player since Woods to have five-plus wins in back-to-back years. He comes into the Tour Championship on a streak of 13 tournaments in the top 10.
“It’s very silly to be compared to Tiger Woods,” Scheffler said. “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.”
Scheffler was amazed by the only time he played with him in a tournament, a moment nearly five years ago that shaped the way the 29-year-old from Dallas now dominates his sport.
It was the final round of the Masters in November 2020, both of them 11 shots out of the lead with no chance to win. What stands out from that autumn Sunday was Woods making a 10 on the par-3 12th hole and then made birdie on five of his last six holes.
Scheffler remembers the opening hole just as well.
As he looks back to the start of his pro career, Scheffler felt he was guilty of not giving himself enough chances at winning and rarely being in the final group.
“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,” he said.
“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 first 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,” Scheffler said. “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 … 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.”
That’s what golf has witnessed since Scheffler finally broke through at the WM Phoenix Open in 2022, and within two months he was a Masters champion and No. 1 in the world.
It doesn’t mean he wins every week — golf is still golf, an impossible game to master.
This week is an example of that. The change to the format in the Tour Championship put emphasis on getting to East Lake, and now the top 30 players start from scratch for 72 holes to see who wins the FedEx Cup.
Scheffler has no advantage by starting at 10-under par, nor does he have a points advantage. It’s a welcome change for most players because they signed off on it. Rory McIlroy, the Masters champion, says he didn’t mind the starting strokes because great play should get some reward.
“I didn’t hate the starting strokes. I thought that the player that played the best during the course of the season should have had an advantage coming in here,” McIlroy said. “But you could also argue if it was starting strokes this week, Scottie with a two-shot lead, it probably isn’t enough considering what he’s done this year.”
Scheffler started with a two-shot lead each of the last three years and it still took him the third try to win the FedEx Cup. He loves the pressure of competing. And besides, not starting with an advantage is sure to get his attention from the start.
He has his caddie, Ted Scott, back on the bag this week as Scott is dealing with a family emergency. Scheffler is quick to point out how his career took off when he brought in Scott to work with all the preparation he put into his job.
This year has been as good as any considering he started late because of hand surgery, and he added the PGA Championship and British Open to his two previous Masters titles.
But it’s not over yet. Scheffler was reminded of that in 2022 when he lost a six-shot lead in the final round to McIlroy. That was the year he won his first Masters, rose to No. 1 in the world and had four victories.
But when he returned home, he was met with condolences for not winning at East Lake.
“It just irked me so bad finishing off the year where guys were like: ‘Hey, great playing, I’m sorry about how it ended.’ It’s like, ‘You know what, man, I won the Masters this year, won a few other tournaments.’ It was a pretty good year.”
The tournament starts Thursday. It’s already been a good year for Scheffler.
