Scottie Scheffler won the 153rd Open Championship at Royal Portrush on Sunday. His fourth major championship comes exactly as many days after his first as it did for Tiger Woods 25 years ago. That stat is just one of the many ways Scheffler has been compared to Woods in recent months. When asked about the comparisons at his press conference, the Champion Golfer of the Year shut it down.
“I still think they're a bit silly. I think Tiger stands alone in the game of golf,” Scheffler said, per Kyle Porter of Normal Sport.
Scheffler can think whatever he wants, but the comparisons are fair, as long as he keeps it up. Justin Ray of TwentyFirst Group posted a stat about the blowout nature of Scheffler's major wins. “Players to win 4 majors by 3 strokes or more since first Masters held in 1934: Tiger Woods, 7. Jack Nicklaus, 6. Scottie Scheffler, 4.”
That is all of Scheffler's majors, six of Niklaus's 18, and seven of Woods's 15. While he has not reached that pinnacle yet, Scheffler is setting a pace very few have in the history of golf. The Open Championship was another coronation for Scheffler, as he won by four despite a double bogey on Sunday.
Scheffler has now converted each of his last ten 54-hole wins into 72-hole victories. That is 27 short of Woods's all-time record, but he has to start somewhere. It is also the fourth time Scheffler has led after 54 holes and won a major, joining Jack Nicklaus and Brooks Koepka at four, one behind Peter Thomson, and ten behind Woods.
Scheffler is right, as he has not reached Woods's level yet. And Koepka's inclusion in these stats shows that these runs can fade quickly. But Scheffler and his measured worldview should help him keep this going. He has a Ryder Cup and a chance at the career Grand Slam in the next year.
