Scottie Scheffler’s final 21 holes at this year’s Players Championship had a tint of Tiger Woods to them. To match the biggest final-round comeback ever at TPC Sawgrass required the World No. 1 to shoot 11 under over 21 holes, and eight under on Sunday—while fighting through obvious injury. Somebody, get this man a Theragun!
Despite a Tiger-ish showing, Scheffler knows his accomplishments are still a long ways away from allowing him to be mentioned along with the GOAT, and he played down any comparisons after becoming the first golfer to successfully defend his title at TPC Sawgrass (Tiger included). Still, if Scheffler ever forgets where he stands in the golf landscape, it’s nice to know that fans out there love to remind him.
Scottie Scheffler got asked about the Tiger-like run he’s on . Told a story he remembered from Riviera last month
“I heard a guy yell out, ‘congrats on being No. 1 Scottie ! Only 11 more years to go.”
— Christopher Powers (@CPowers14) March 17, 2024
MORE: Welcome to the age of Scottie Scheffler
“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,’” Scheffler recounted on Sunday. “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.”
That “11 more years” jeer refers to how much longer Scheffler will need to be World No. 1 to catch up with the amount of time Woods held the label. For those who can’t (or don’t want to) do any math, that means Scheffler has to stay No. 1 until 2035. Who knows where we’ll be then?
Scheffler has one major championship, so any real comparisons to Woods start and end there, but having people trash-talk you about how you’re not Tiger … that’s how you know you’ve made it.
“This is my eighth tournament win now out here and I’ve tied him in Players Championships,” Scheffler continued. “Outside of that, I got 14 more majors and 70-some PGA Tour events to catch up. I think I’m going to stick to my routine and just continue to plot along, try and stay as even-keeled as I can.
“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.”
Woke up this morning thinking about Scottie Scheffler’s golf game. pic.twitter.com/KW1fVXdrqq
— Golf Digest (@GolfDigest) March 18, 2024
With back-to-back wins at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and Players Championship, Scheffler will be just fine despite not being Tiger. However, he did beat Woods at something notable: The current World No. 1 is the fastest golfer to break the $50 million barrier. It took Scheffler just 113 starts compared to Tiger’s 177.
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This article was originally published on golfdigest.com
