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Forbes
15 hours ago
- Sport
- Forbes
Scheffler's Fourth Major Win Evokes Prime-Tiger Woods Comparisons
Scottie Scheffler kisses the Claret Jug following his victory at the Open Championship at Royal ... More Portrush Golf Club in Northern Ireland. (Photo by Alex Pantling/R&A/R&A via Getty Images) When Tiger Woods was in his prime and took a 54-hole lead into the final round of a tournament, the result felt like a foregone conclusion. It often seemed the rest of the field was playing for second place. Scottie Scheffler's dominating victory at The Open Championship – and fourth win in eight starts – had that same feeling of inevitability. The 27-year-old Texas carried a four-shot lead into the final round and promptly birdied three of the first five holes at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland to quell any questions about whether he might relinquish the lead. Scheffler won with relentless efficiency, finishing 17-under par overall, and the winning margin felt wider than it was. "What he's doing is so dominant and so clinical," NBC Sports analyst and former professional golfer Brandel Chamblee said of Scheffler, who has moved within a U.S. Open win of the career Grand Slam. "I can't help but think that we are on an inevitable march towards one of the greatest careers in the history of golf." Given his current streak of dominance, including 11 straight Top 10 finishes and four wins, among them two majors, since the start of May, the comparisons to Woods are perhaps inevitable. Scottie Scheffler won his fourth career major title (all since 2022) at Royal Portrush. (Photo by ... More) "I don't think we thought the golfing world would see someone as dominant as Tiger come through so soon, and here's Scottie sort of taking that throne of dominance," said Xander Schauffele, who won the PGA Championship and Open Championship in 2024, but finished seven shots behind Scheffler despite closing with rounds of 69, 66 and 68. "You can't even say he's on a run. He's just been killing it for over two years now. He's a tough man to beat, and when you see his name up on the leaderboard, it sucks for us." $90 Million in Career Earnings All 17 of Scheffler's wins have come over the past 3 1/2 years, a stretch that includes Masters Tournament titles in 2022 and 2024, and the PGA Championship in May of this year. By winning another $3.1 million, Scheffler pushed his career earnings past $90 million, the fourth-highest total in history. With his final-round coronation at Royal Portrush, Scheffler collected his fourth career major 1,197 days after his first – the exact timeframe Woods needed to go from one to four majors. Given the vagaries of the Open Championship – including wind, weather and the different skillsets and mindset that links golf demands – Scheffler is just the second No. 1 player since the advent of the Official Golf Ranking in 1986 to claim the Claret Jug. The other was Woods. "I look everywhere and I try to find some kind of weakness, somewhere where he can get derailed, and I just can't find it," NBC Sports analyst Paul McGinley, a former Irish professional who captained Europe to victory at the 2014 Ryder Cup, says of Scheffler. "He might even prove to have more longevity than Tiger Woods." A fan favorite at Royal Portrush, Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland finished seven strokes behind ... More winner Scottie Scheffler. (Photo by) Rory McIlroy finished in a tie for seventh place at 10-under par and the Irishman, the fan favorite all week at Royal Portrush, acknowledged that no one in the pack could 'hang with Scottie this week' given the mistake-free efficiency with which Scheffler was playing. "He is the bar that we're all trying to get to,' McIlroy said. 'In a historical context, you could argue that there's only maybe two or three players in the history of the game that have been on a run (like) the one that Scottie's been on here for the last 24 to 36 months. Incredibly impressive." Scheffler's Final Round Scheffler's final-round performance at the Open Championship was particularly Woods-esque. While names like McIlroy, Harris English, Chris Gotterup, Wyndham Clark, Haotong Li, and Matt Fitzpatrick all shot below par on Sunday and at times seemed poised to make charges, Scheffler charged right alongside them. He had four front-nine birdies and offset his lone double bogey of the week (a 6 on the par 4 8th hole) with two birdies over the next four holes. "That was, I felt like, one of my best performances mentally," Scheffler said. "To only have one double -- really only one over-par hole in the last 36 holes of a major championship -- that's how you're able to win these tournaments.' Scottie Scheffler walks up the 18th hole during Saturday's third round at the Open Championship at ... More Royal Portrush Golf Club. (Photo by Stuart Franklin/R&A/R&A via Getty Images) Harris English, who has twice been a major runner-up to Scheffler this year -- by a combined nine strokes at the PGA Championship and The Open Championship -- summed up the challenge facing the rest of the tour. "There's no stat that he's bad in,' English said afterward. 'It's like, how do you beat this guy?" Tiger Woods Comparisons Scheffler remained characteristically humble during his post-championship news conference when asked about the comparisons to Woods. "I still think they're a bit silly. Tiger won, what, 15 majors? This is my fourth. I just got one-fourth of the way there," Scheffler said. "I think Tiger stands alone in the game of golf. He was inspirational for me growing up. He was a very, very talented guy." Scottie Scheffler with son Bennett and the Claret Jug on the 18th green after winning the 153rd Open ... More Championship at Royal Portrush Golf Club in Northern Ireland. (Photo by Alex Pantling/R&A/R&A via Getty Images) And yet, when you look at Scheffler's pace, his trophy cabinet is growing almost as quickly. Already, only 21 golfers in history have won more than his four major titles. Besides Woods, who hasn't played in 2025, the only other active players with more majors are Phil Mickelson (6), Brooks Koepka (5), and McIlroy (5). At just 27 years old, Scheffler still has time on his side. And if the comparisons to 'prime Tiger' feel premature now, that sentiment may not last much longer.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
McIlroy 'warm,' but needs to get 'scalding'
Look back on Rory McIlroy's Open Round 2 and hear from the world No. 2, before Brandel Chamblee says he likes where McIlroy's game is at -- but he needs to get going even more to win at Portrush.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Scottie's 'true mastery' on display as Open leader
With Scottie Scheffler in the solo lead heading into Saturday, Brandel Chamblee wouldn't be surprised if the world No. 1 leaves everyone in the dust. Watch his highlights as Live From The Open breaks it down.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
'Absolute, true mastery': Scottie Scheffler goes low, takes British Open lead to weekend
PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland – Forget about all the pre-championship talk that Scottie Scheffler still needs to learn how to play links. On Friday, the world No. 1 golfer could have taught a Master Class, reeling off eight birdies to shoot 7-under 64 at Royal Portrush Golf Club and grab a one-stroke lead over Englishman Matt Fitzpatrick at the midway point of the 153rd British Open. 'Tiger Woodsdid this, Jack Nicklaus did this, and I think it's a testament to the truest mastery, the absolute height of the game, and it's so rare that you see someone take this game to a level where there is no past, there is no future, they're just completely in the moment,' Golf Channel's Brandel Chamblee said. 'What we've seen the last two days is absolute, true mastery.' After shooting 68 on Thursday despite hitting only three fairways, Scheffler found the short grass more often and his putter, which had been more foe than friend on slower greens than he is used to last week in Scotland, heated up. He ranks second in Strokes Gained: putting this week. It added up to his 19th career 36-hole lead or co-lead on Tour and fourth this season. Scheffler, who won the PGA Championship for his third career major in May, is poised to win a third leg of the career Grand Slam. Not even a wild weather day could slow him down as he improved to a 36-hole total of 10-under-par 132. 'It was super sunny when we were on the driving range, I'm out there in short sleeves, it's warm out. Then we get to the 1st hole, it's still sunny. Then all of a sudden, you look around and it's super dark and it starts pouring rain,' he said. 'You're like, boy, I wonder how long this is going to last.' Matt Fitzpatrick, the 2022 U.S. Open champ, would like his run of good form to continue for at least two more days. He opened with rounds of 67 and 66 as he attempts to become the first Englishman since Nick Faldo 33 years ago to win the British Open. Fitzpatrick will be paired alongside Scheffler in the final group on Saturday but said the pressure will be on Scheffler. 'He's going to have the expectation to go out and dominate. He's an exceptional player. He's World No. 1, and we're seeing Tiger-like stuff. I think the pressure is for him to win the golf tournament,' Fitzpatrick said. 'For me obviously I hope I'm going to have some more home support than him, but it's an exciting position for me to be in given where I was earlier this year.' Scheffler and Fitzpatrick have company from Brian Harman (65) and Haotong Li (67), who are two back. Harman won the 2023 British Open and looks to have regained the form that allowed him to cruise to the title two years ago. 'One of my favorite traits about Brian is when people count him out and don't believe he can do something, it almost motivates him more to be that bulldog,' Golf Channel's Johnson Wagner said. 'He's a gritty guy, he's a little undersized so people always underestimate him like they did at [the 2023 Open] and he just slammed the door on them. I wouldn't count Brian out just yet.' Further down the leaderboard is a party of five at 5 under, including Dane Rasmus Hojgaard, Englishman Tyrrell Hatton (the top LIV contender), Scotland's Robert MacIntyre and Americans Harris English and Chris Gotterup. Hojgaard's twin brother, Nicolai, and Tony Finau are a shot further back at 4 under and T-10. Among those lurking at 3 under include Northern Ireland's own Rory McIlroy and U.S. Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley. 'I'm excited for that opportunity,' McIlroy said. 'I didn't have this opportunity six years ago, so to play an extra two days in this atmosphere in front of these crowds, I'm very excited for that. I feel like my game's definitely good enough to make a run.' Bryson DeChambeau rallied to make the cut on the number with a 65 on Friday. Seventy golfers advanced to the weekend with a 36-hole total of 1-over 143 or better. Among those sent packing were Collin Morikawa, who for the first time in his career failed to record a top 10 at a major; Patrick Cantlay, who missed his third cut in a row at a major; LIV's Joaquin Niemann and Australian Adam Scott. The Claret Jug and the honor to be called Champion Golfer of the Year still is very much up for grabs but it won't be easy to chase down world No. 1. 'It would not surprise me at all if he leaves everyone in the rearview mirror,' Chamblee said. This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Open Championship: Scottie Scheffler shoots 64, takes 36-hole lead
NBC Sports
3 days ago
- Sport
- NBC Sports
McIlroy 'warm,' but needs to get 'scalding'
Look back on Rory McIlroy's Open Round 2 and hear from the world No. 2, before Brandel Chamblee says he likes where McIlroy's game is at -- but he needs to get going even more to win at Portrush.
