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Irish Examiner
12 hours ago
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Scottie Scheffler learned most from watching Tiger Woods at his lowest
Tiger Woods and Scottie Scheffler. As intersections of fate go, their overlap was as quiet as it gets. It was the final round of the 2020 Masters – the COVID Masters – played in November in front of no fans. With diminished daylight in autumn, groups were sent out Sunday in threesomes. Woods, the reigning Masters champion, and Shane Lowry, the reigning Open champion, were joined by a young PGA Tour rookie making his professional debut in a major championship. Scheffler, then 22, got his first and still only taste of playing with Tiger. And the impact of that one round still resonates today – and not just in the TaylorMade P7TW (yes, that TW) model of irons Scheffler has been using ever since. 'I watched the way Tiger struck and shaped the ball when I played with him at the Masters in 2020, and that was all I needed to see to want to try them,' he said. No, Scheffler learned even more from watching Woods suffer his single worst moment on Augusta National – a 10 on par-3 12th hole. Most golfers would sulk and want to hide – even with no fans watching – after that. Tiger simply birdied five of the last six holes. 'My biggest takeaway from playing with Tiger was the amount of intensity that he took to every shot, and that's something I've talked to a lot of guys about,' Scheffler said Wednesday at East Lake, where the world's undisputed No. 1 golfer will try to make history even Tiger couldn't by winning a second consecutive Tour Championship and FedEx Cup. 'Tiger was just different in the sense of the way he approached each shot, it was like the last shot he was ever going to hit. I've only played with Tiger once in a tournament. I played with him in the 2020 Covid Masters, and I think he made a 10 on the 12th hole, and he birdied, I think, five of the last six, and it was like, 'what's this guy still playing for?' He's won the Masters four or five times. Best finish he's going to have is like 20th place at this point [he end up T38 to Scheffler's T19]. 'I just admired the intensity that he brought to each round, and that's something that I try to emulate. If I'm going to take time to come out here each week – like it's not an easy thing to play a golf tournament. If I'm going to take a week off, I might as well just stay home. I'm not going to come out here to take a week off. If I'm playing in a tournament, I'm going to give it my all. That's really all it boils down to.' The most important thing Scottie Scheffler learned from Tiger Woods? Intensity. On every shot. — (@GOLF_com) August 20, 2025 Scheffler has often brushed off the comparisons he gets to Woods, even calling it 'silly' to mention him in the same context as the man who dominated the game for more than a decade before injury intervened and accumulated 15 majors. It becomes increasingly less silly each passing year as Scheffler keeps playing with that Tiger-like focus he saw in Augusta and the accumulating Tiger-like results and building a Tiger-like gap over his peers. Scheffler has five wins – including two majors – in his last 10 starts. He's finished in the top eight 13 consecutive times since March – matching the record of Byron Nelson and exceeding even Tiger's most consistent run. He arrives at East Lake with more than twice as many FedEx Cup points as No. 2 Rory McIlroy, who all he did was win at Pebble Beach, the Players and the Masters. He has almost twice as many Official World Golf Ranking points as McIlroy (21.23-11.26) and has held the No. 1 ranking for 118 weeks since May 2023 – a string second only to Tiger's two extended runs of 281 and 264 weeks. 'He's been on a different level for the last two years to the rest of us,' McIlroy said after Scheffler's dominant victory at Royal Portrush. 'He is the bar that we're all trying to get to at this point, so hats off to him. He's an unbelievable player, an incredible champion and a great person, too.' These are the kinds of comments the world's best players made for so long about Woods. The comparisons are legit. Scheffler ranks No. 1 on tour in four strokes gained categories – total, off the tee, tee to green and approach. He's become one of the world's best putters, ranking 16th there is strokes gained there when it was his only weakness two years ago. When he misfires, he ranked second on tour in scrambling. He is unrivaled in bouncing back from mistakes (leading that category as well). These were all the kinds of things Tiger did when he was at his peak powers. One thing Scheffler has going for him that may prove even more enduring than Tiger is his consistency. Tiger famously went through multiple swing changes and swing coaches, while Scheffler doesn't tinker with the swing he's grooved with his long-time coach Rick Smith. And as long as Scheffler stays away from cutting ravioli with wine glasses (if he'd taken McIlroy's advice to hire a chef like he did in switching to a mallet putter, Rory might still not be wearing a green jacket), he's significantly healthier than Woods ever was even before back surgeries and car crashes derailed his constantly upward trajectory. While their styles and emotions couldn't be more different, Scheffler's focus and determination are his most Tiger-esque traits. And some of that all goes back to his one and only round with the greatest golfer of his generation. 'He hit some of the best iron shots I think I've ever seen, still to this day,' Scheffler said of that Covid-Masters Sunday in Bob Harig's book 'Drive: The Lasting Legacy of Tiger Woods.' 'It was really cool for me to see him just kind of flip the switch. He hit one really nice shot into 13 and all of a sudden its' game on. I knew he was frustrated. I didn't know him well enough at the time to kind of rib him about it. 'I was actually joking with him (at a tournament in 2022) about that round. And he was like, 'Yeah that really pissed me off.' No. 12. That's one of those special things that makes Tiger, Tiger. A lot of guys would have thrown in the towel there for sure.' Now it's Scheffler whose switch always seems to be flipped on, and his peers are the ones trying not to throw in the towel.
Newsweek
21 hours ago
- Sport
- Newsweek
Scottie Scheffler Shares What He Took From Tiger Woods to Stay Motivated
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Fans have long been fascinated by the way Scottie Scheffler continues to motivate himself to perform at the highest level despite his tremendous success. Even the world No. 1 himself has reflected on the topic, as he did during his now-famous press conference before the Open Championship last July. Scheffler has always responded from the perspective of how much golf means to him and his effort to always stay focused on the course. However, during his press conference ahead of the Tour Championship, he delved a little deeper into the topic and revealed the role Tiger Woods plays in the matter. Tiger Woods of the United States reacts after finishing on the 18th green during the final round of the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club on November 15, 2020 in Augusta, Georgia. Tiger Woods of the United States reacts after finishing on the 18th green during the final round of the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club on November 15, 2020 in Augusta, Ridgewood, New Jersey, native shared an anecdote involving the 15-time major champion that has kept him going ever since. "My biggest takeaway from playing with Tiger (Woods) was the amount of intensity that he took to every shot, and that's something I've talked to a lot of guys about," Scheffler told the reporters, according to the presser's transcripts. "Tiger was just different in the sense of the way he approached each shot, it was like the last shot he was ever going to hit. "I've only played with Tiger once in a tournament. I played with him in the 2020 COVID Masters, and I think he made a 10 on the 12th hole, and he birdied, I think, five of the last six, and it was like, 'What's this guy still playing for? He's won the Masters four or five times. Best finish he's going to have is like 20th place at this point.' "I just admired the intensity that he brought to each round, and that's something that I try to emulate. If I'm going to take time to come out here each week -- like it's not an easy thing to play a golf tournament. If I'm going to take a week off, I might as well just stay home. I'm not going to come out here to take a week off. If I'm playing in a tournament, I'm going to give it my all. That's really all it boils down to." The then-second-year PGA Tour player and still winless Scheffler certainly played with Woods in the final round of the 2020 Masters Tournament. And it's no wonder why the experience left such a lasting mark on him. Tiger Woods finds the water for the third time on No. 12. He would go on to make a 10. — CBS Sports (@CBSSports) November 15, 2020 Woods got off to a very rough start in that round, with a birdie and three bogeys on his card through the 11th hole. However, it was on the 12th that his bad luck reached its limit: the legendary player found the water three times, which led to three penalties, faced an impossible shot from the back bunker, and ultimately carded a 10-hole for a seven-bogey. But, as Scheffler recalled, Woods bounced back like the super-champion he is and birdied five of the final six holes to leave Augusta National Golf Club with his dignity intact. His score for the round was a 4-over 76, which brought his score for the event to 1-under, as he finished tied for 38th. It's worth remembering that Woods had won his fifth green jacket just the previous year. In the meantime, Scheffler finished tied for 19th with a score of 6-under. It was his debut at the Masters, and also his worst finish to date at the Augusta National. More Golf: FedEx Cup: Fowler Falls Short as Euro Underdog Storms Into Ryder Cup Talks
USA Today
09-04-2025
- Climate
- USA Today
2025 Masters: Five bold predictions include Rory McIlroy playoff scenario
Hear this story AUGUSTA, Ga. – As the Masters gets underway, here are sports columnist Dan Wolken's five bold predictions for how this week will turn out. This year will produce the lowest (real) winning score since 2015 Putting aside Dustin Johnson's 20-under par during the COVID Masters played in November 2020 when course conditions were completely different than in the spring, nobody has come close over the past decade to Jordan Spieth's 18-under in 2015. The winner this year will need to be around that neighborhood because of the ideal scoring conditions in store this weekend. In recent years, Augusta National has been impacted by severe weather on at least one or two days including last year when ridiculous 30-40 mph winds swept through Thursday and Friday. But this year, there's really no wind in the forecast and only a small chance of rain Friday, which would do nothing but soften the course a bit. Combined with the rain the course received Monday, it's going to be about 70 degrees and sunny every day with calm conditions. It should be a birdie assault on Augusta. The winner of the Masters will eagle No. 13 on Sunday Lengthening the 13th hole to 545 yards with the new back tee box seems to have had a big impact on scoring. There were just 108 birdies for the entire tournament each of the past two years since the change and only 12 combined eagles on the hole known as 'Azalea.' Compare that to, say, 2019 when there were 158 birdies and 17 eagles. Increasing the distance from 510 yards has brought the average score up fractionally, from around 4.6 strokes most years to around 4.7 and change the past two. Of course, weather plays a big factor so it'll take several more years to see the true impact of making the hole 35 yards longer. But Fred Ridley, the tournament chairman, said Wednesday he believes more players are going for the green in two because drives that leak out to the right are not reaching the trees like they used to. 'Our motivation was to create more excitement and have more players go for the green,' he said. With more players trying to eagle the hole but fewer actually doing it, it makes sense that someone is going to hit the right approach and create separation on the leaderboard at that key spot on the course. Why not this year? Phil Mickelson will be in the mix Sunday Lefty feels a little bit like a museum artifact these days, given that he's 54 and hasn't won an official tournament since the Charles Schwab Cup Championship on the senior tour in November 2021. But he does know his way around Augusta, as he proved two years ago by sneaking into a tie for second behind Jon Rahm with a final round 65. Interestingly, that was only Mickelson's third top 10 since he last won the tournament in 2010. But what's more important is that he seems to be in good form lately with a third and a sixth place in the past three LIV events. Winning the event is probably beyond his reach, but it's not a shock to see an old guy on the leaderboard at the Masters simply due to knowing how to play the course. This feels like a good spot for the three-time champion to make one last big run at the title. Rory McIlroy will lose the Masters in a playoff At this point, the world's No. 2-ranked player has lost majors in just about every heartbreaking way known to man, especially the past few years. Couldn't make a birdie putt in the final round at St. Andrews. Couldn't hold off Wyndham Clark at L.A. Country Club. Couldn't close the deal against Bryson DeChambeau at Pinehurst. What's the one thing he hasn't done? Lose a major in a playoff. Before McIlroy wins his career Grand Slam at the Masters, he has to complete has Grand Slam of disappointments. You can say he already has his what-if moment at this course back in 2011 when he had the lead going into the back nine on Sunday before blowing up with a triple bogey on No. 10 and a four-putt on No. 12. But that was a long, long time ago and the current Rory cycle demands that he lose a major in a playoff before he starts winning them again. Those are the rules. There will be a first-time Masters winner this year Who beats McIlroy in the playoff? It will be someone crowned as a major champion for the first time. The highest-ranked player without a major is a fairly obvious pick: Ludvig Aberg, the 25-year-old Swede who finished second last year in his Masters debut. But Aberg hasn't played that well lately, missing the cut in his two most recent events. Next on the list is Russell Henley. Russell who? He's not a household name, but the native Georgian is playing the best golf of his life at 35 and ranked No. 10 in the world after winning the Arnold Palmer Invitational last month. After that comes Viktor Hovland, who would admit that his swing is a mess. Then Maverick McNealy, who has never played the Masters or finished better than 23rd in a major. Then it's Tommy Fleetwood, who can't seem to put it all together when it counts. Next comes Sepp Straka, who is too streaky to pick. Then we get to Patrick Cantlay, who is probably due to win a major and has played well this year. So that's the pick. It's Cantlay. Follow USA TODAY Sports columnist Dan Wolken on social media@
