The Inevitable (and Uncomfortable) Comparison Everyone Makes
It seems that in the world of golf, if you are good, really good, your destiny is to be compared to the GOAT, Tiger Woods. And Scottie Scheffler, the golden boy of the PGA Tour, is experiencing that firsthand. The numbers are starting to get heavy, like that friend who insists on a meme that’s no longer funny: Scheffler has been number one in the world longer than anyone else since Tigre himself, he’s the first since him to achieve more than five wins in consecutive years, and he comes to the Tour Championship with a streak of 13 tournaments in the top 10. Basically, he’s breaking the golf algorithm.
But Scottie, with the calm of a Texan who has just found the last brisket at the barbecue, dodges it elegantly. His statement is a monument to common sense: “It’s very silly to be compared to Tiger Woods. I think Tiger is a guy who excels only in the game of golf, and I think he always will.” And he adds, nailing why those comparisons are meaningless: “Tiger inspired an entire generation of golfers. We grew up watching that guy do what he did week after week, it was pretty amazing to witness it.” In other words, he includes himself among those who saw Tiger with his drool down. It’s like being compared to your own childhood idol. Maximum cringe.
The Lesson of a Round Without Glory (But With a Lot of Attitude)
The only time he shared a card with Woods in a tournament was not an epic battle on a major Sunday. Nothing of the sort. It was the final round of the November 2020 Masters. Both were 11 shots off the lead, so far from the fight that they almost needed binoculars to see it. What happened that day, however, changed his mental chip forever.
While we all remember the horror of Tiger making a 10 on the 12th hole (a moment we experienced with the same drama as a season finale of your favorite series), Scheffler was impressed with something else. The first hole. There was Tiger, with nothing at stake, reading his putt with the intensity of someone who is going to win his sixth green jacket. Scheffler remembers him thinking, “Oh my God, this guy is on it right now!” The guy didn’t turn off competitive mode even underwater.
That was the epiphany. The “aha” moment that made him realize that he sometimes relaxed when he wasn’t in the final group. He learned that the key was not to always win, but to always compete. Bringing that tigress intensity to every shot, every round, no matter if you were first or twentieth. And voilà, there began Scheffler’s era of dominance, which took off with his victory at the WM Phoenix Open in 2022 and led him to become Masters champion and world number one in the blink of an eye.
Without Advantage and With Everything Ahead
This week, at the Tour Championship, the rules of the game have changed. No starting with -10 under par for being the leader of the season. The 30 best start from scratch, like all mortals. For Scheffler, who has started with a two-stroke lead the last three years and has only won the FedEx Cup once, it may be a relief. Less entry pressure, more opportunity to focus from the first second.
In addition, he has his caddie, Ted Scott, back after he was absent due to a family emergency. Scheffler does not hesitate to point out that his career took off just when Ted arrived with his preparation and his calm. This year is already, without a doubt, the best of his career, even starting late due to hand surgery. He added the PGA Championship and the British Open to his two Masters. But the memory of 2022, when he lost a six-shot lead in the final round to Rory McIlroy, serves as a reminder: in golf, nothing is written.
The funniest thing about that year is that, after winning his first Masters, rising to number one and achieving four victories, he returned home and people gave him their condolences for not winning at East Lake. He, rightly so, was thinking, “You know what, man? I won the Masters this year, I won a few other tournaments. It was a pretty good year.” A totally relatable mood: when your standards are so high that a spectacular year seems insufficient for others.
The tournament starts on Thursday. It’s already been an incredible year for Scottie Scheffler, but something tells us he’s not about to settle. And, above all, he will continue to humorously refuse to be compared to Tiger. At the end of the day, as he says, some icons are unique and unrepeatable.
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