Scheffler stands alone at the summit
Scottie Scheffler hits his tee shot on the first hole during the third round of the PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club on Saturday, May 18, 2024 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Darren Carroll/PGA of America)
Comparisons with Tiger Woods rarely stand much scrutiny, but Scottie Scheffler’s imperious march to FedExCup glory passes muster in every department.
The world number one has won eight times in 2024 - seven tour events and Olympic gold - to stand head and shoulders above the rest.
Seven clear after a two-shot swing in his favour on the first hole at East Lake on Sunday, he saw his lead shrink to two over Collin Morikawa when he shanked a greenside bunker shot at the eighth and made a bogey.
His response summed up his year perfectly - three birdies in a row from the ninth, followed by an eagle three at the 14th to card a four-under 67 to beat Morikawa by four strokes and claim his first FedExCup.
He’s the first man to win seven times in a season - eight if you include his Paris - since Woods in 2007.
"I think it is on par with those great years of Tiger's,” said veteran Adam Scott. “I think it's very hard today for anyone to separate themselves as much as Scottie has. I don't think we've seen that in a long time. I think it's harder to do it today.”
When Rory McIlroy suggested that Scheffler might benefit from a switch to a mallet putter, and the results immediately followed, few thanked the Holywood star for turning the Texan into a winning machine.
He made the switch in March and won the Arnold Palmer Invitational, the Players Championship, the Masters, the RBC Heritage, the Memorial, the Travelers, and Olympic gold before winning at East Lake on Sunday, though he was technically behind Morikawa and Sahith Theegala in the non-starting strokes event as far as the Official World Golf Ranking is concerned.
"I made a lot of putts this year when I really needed to," Scheffler said on Sunday night. "I think of the putt to win Memorial, I think of some of the putts I made over the week at the Players and the putts I made on the back nine Sunday at the Olympics.
“I made some putts this year when I really needed to, and that's why I'm sitting here with a lot of wins instead of a few."
After blowing a six-shot final-round lead to lose the FedExCup to McIlroy in 2022, he faced a crisis moment after that shank at the eighth. Still, he responded with the mental strength of a true champion, rifling a four iron to the feet at the ninth to start a birdie hat trick.
"He's the guy to beat every single week," said Justin Thomas.
“I don't think people understand how hard that is to do, when you're expected to win, when you're the favourite to win when every single thing you're doing is being looked at, good and bad, on the golf course, and how hard it is to get in your own little zone and own little world and truly just quiet the noise.
“It's something that is just as much of a skill as being able to hit a driver in the fairway or an iron online. He's clearly figured that out very well."
England’s Aaron Rai and McIlroy believe Scheffler’s attitude sets him apart, notwithstanding a game with virtually no weaknesses.
"His biggest strength is his outlook and his perspective on life," Rai said. "To be able to maintain that level of golf under the pressure of being world number one and the attention that surrounds him every week and to be able to play his best golf at number one shows a different dimension to his game."
McIlroy concurred.
“Yeah, I think his consistency, his attitude,” McIlroy said. “I feel like he just brings the same demeanour to the course every single day, no matter what position on the leaderboard he's in.
“He's just amazing to just watch the way he manages himself around the golf course. We'll look back on 2024, and it's obviously one of the best individual years that a player has had for a long time.”
World number two Schauffele, the PGA and Open champion who ended up tied for fourth on Sunday, believes he’s the most dominant world number one he’s seen since turning pro.
“I think by the definition of dominance, I think that's literally where he's sitting,” Schauffele said.
“I don't know how many weeks he's been the number one player in the world.
“Since I've been out, I think Dustin had a run, Brooks (Koepka) had a run, Jon (Rahm) had a run, Rory had a run.
“But they were kind of punching back and forth between 1, 2 and 3. Scottie has just been at the tip-top of the mountain for, what, two full years now it seems.”
Scheffler was noticeably irritable as he finished 33rd in the BMW Championship in Denver the week before Atlanta. Still, he had the mental strength to close the deal in Atlanta and end any debate over who will be voted Player of the Year.
“So this week my goal to start the week was just to have the right attitude and use what I feel like is my best strength, and that's my mind,” he said.
“That's what (caddie) Teddy (Scott) reminded me of at the beginning of the week, and that was really just the thing that I focused on the most was just staying in it mentally, and it paid off.”
