Scottie Scheffler has earned a comparison to arguably the greatest golfer of all time in 15-time major champion Tiger Woods by Padraig Harrington.
Scheffler has once again dominated men’s professional golf in 2024, once again ending the year at the top of the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR). In total, the 28-year-old has won nine times throughout the year, including at the Players Championship, Masters, the Tour Championship and Olympic gold.
Scottie Scheffler was compared to Tiger Woods (Image: Getty Images)
Unsurprisingly, the world No. 1 has received praise throughout the year and has now been handed one of the biggest compliments of all by two-time Open champion Harrington.
“It’s quite phenomenal,” Harrington said of Scheffler in an interview with the Belfast Telegraph. “He’s relentless. That’s really it. Clearly, he is a phenomenal and consistent iron player. Where he’s doing the most damage is with his approach shots.
“He’s a bit like Tiger was from 2001 to 2005. He’s not like the Tiger of 2000 or earlier, who was swashbuckling, taking on every pin and hitting outrageous shots. Scottie is just relentless.” Harrington also spoke about Rory McIlroy’s year, who won four times in 2024.
Despite this, the Northern Irishman once again failed to add major No. 5 to his CV, having not one won since the 2014 PGA Championship at Valhalla. Scheffler of course added his second major crown at Augusta in April, and is expected to to this tally when heading into 2025.
Scheffler and McIlroy both enjoyed success ( Image: Getty Images)
During his interview, Harrington appeared to imply a key difference between the No. 1 golfer on the planet and McIlroy. “You get the relentless feeling off Scottie, and that’s a tough thing to come up against,” he says. “And even if he does (make a mistake), you kind of know he’s not going to follow his mistake with another mistake.”
This is not the first time Scheffler has been compared to Woods, with a similar sentiment shared after he became the first PGA Tour star to defend the Players title. Scheffler however was quick to play down the comparison. “Anytime you can be compared to Tiger I think is really special, but, I mean, the guy stands alone I think in our game. He really does,” he said in March.
“This is my eighth tournament win now out here and I’ve tied him in Players Championships. 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.
“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.”
