Scottie Scheffler made history on Sunday. All of it has drawn a few comparisons to Tiger Woods, perhaps the greatest golfer of all time. That said, there are some fans who made sure to let Scheffler know he wasn’t Woods.
After his victory at the Players Championship 2024, the world number one golfer recalled a story in which a heckler provided proof of the gap between Scheffler and Woods.
Via Golf Monthly, he said:
“We’re playing at [the Genesis Invitational] this year and I hit my tee ball and this guy yells out, ‘Congrats on being No. 1, Scottie, 11 more years to go.’ Eleven more years to go. Anytime you can be compared to Tiger I think is really special, but I mean, the guy stands alone in our game. He really does.”
His two Players Championship wins are tied for as many as Woods had in his career. Scheffler noted that the fan was right to bring up the difference, and noted that he had 14 more majors and more than 70 PGA Tour wins to tie Woods in those categories. Scheffler added:
“Yeah, we all idolize Tiger. He’s been our guy. Watching what he did in special moments over the years is crazy to watch. I’ve learned a lot just from being around him. We’re just very thankful that he’s still a part of our sport.”
Scheffler now has back-to-back wins on Tour, as he won last weekend at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
Scottie Scheffler is playing incredibly well
Scottie Scheffler’s form, which includes multiple wins on the year and several top placements otherwise, has him illustrating just how wide the gap is between him and everyone else right now.
He’s the number one ranked golfer by OWGR, and the gap is astonishing. He’s pushed his own average points to 12.07. In second place is Rory McIlroy, a fine golfer by all metrics. McIlroy trails him by about 4.5 points, which is the same as the difference between second place and 20th place, which is Sam Burns.
Scottie Scheffler is truly in a league of his own right now. Even though Jon Rahm, who was briefly number one last year, left for LIV Golf, no one is playing as well as the Players champion is and his OWGR stats and placement proves that.
The gap between Woods and Scheffler, or any golfer for that matter, may be pretty sizeable. Scheffler has many years and tons of victories to go before he reaches the level of Woods, which he’s well aware of. But the gap between Scheffler and the rest of his peers seems to be pretty substantial as well.
