After win at Memorial, it's time to start comparing Scottie Scheffler to prime Tiger Woods
Scottie Scheffler has become inevitable.
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It's not if he's going to make a run in a tournament, it's when he's going to make a run.
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The World No. 1 and undisputed king of golf at the moment did it again on Sunday by winning the Memorial Tournament in front of Jack Nicklaus for the second year in a row.
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1. The Tiger conversation
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Scheffler became the only back-to-back winner in tournament history other than … you guessed it, Tiger Woods, who went back-to-back-to-back from 1999-2001.
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It's over, the time has come. Scottie has now entered the territory where we can start comparing some of his accomplishments to prime Tiger Woods without apologizing for it, or adding in a list of caveats. That in itself is perhaps his most amazing accomplishment.
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The margins of victory are what immediately jumps out as Tiger-like in recent months. He won on Sunday by four; he won the PGA Championship by five and he won the Byron Nelson by eight. And all that was in May.
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Stats guru Justin Ray posted on Sunday that the list of players with 3+ wins in the same season by four or more shots in the past 30 years is: Tiger 2000, 5 times; Tiger 2003, 3; Scottie 2024, 3; Scottie 2025 3 (so far).
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Speaking of Jack Nicklaus, it's always great to hear the Golden Bear weigh in on anything.
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As if what Scheffler is doing isn't scary enough, Nicklaus had this to say about the world No. 1 on Saturday's broadcast: 'He reminds me a lot of the way I tried to play.'
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The comparisons I see between the two are partly in their attitudes. There is/was a matter-of-factness to the way they both go about the game: Head down, consistent, every week showing up at the first tee with the same attitude and plan.
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That might not sound like a lot, but it harkens back to the opening line from this newsletter. Jack Nicklaus was inevitable. Scottie Scheffler has become inevitable. And that scares the hell out of the competition.
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When you ask other players who played with and against absolute legends in any sport what it was that they were most impressed with, it's amazing how many times you'll hear them say something along the lines of, 'He was the same guy every day.'
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That sounds kind of silly, but for professional athletes who know how easy it is to let things slip away for a shot, or a shift, or a day, or a year, it's that utter sameness, physically, mentally, emotionally, Every. Single. Day. that seems otherworldly.
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