When Scottie Scheffler made his win at the 2024 Masters and The Players Championship, he was the first golfer to do so since Tiger Woods‘s stunning 2001. They are the only two players that have the distinction of leading after 54 holes of The Masters and winning while ranked No. 1 in the OWGR on 2 occasions. 2001 and 2002 for Woods and 2022 and 2024 for Scheffler. Looking at Scheffler’s splendid season last year, Woods’s long-time coach, Butch Harmon, said: “What can he do going forward? He can only get better – and that’s a scary thought.” Since he’s yet to replicate the 2024 magic, not everyone’s as impressed as Harmon.
That list includes Tiger Woods‘s ex-caddie, Steve Williams. We couldn’t let his remark catch dust. Having seen Woods’s 13 of the 15 major wins, you have to hear him out. Sitting down for an interview on Fried Egg Golf to promote his upcoming book ‘Together We Roared’ with Evin Priest, the caddie was asked which players remind him most of Tiger Woods.
“I mean, I think, when I look at Rory, I find him to be a very gifted athlete. A guy who works extremely hard on his game. And he strives to get better all the time.” Williams added that Rory McIlroy is someone who works really hard and his “presence is right up there.” Didn’t expect this, did you? Of course, if you compare their records, McIlroy will fall short by a large margin. And that’s why it’s not about it.
Back in 2020, the then 31-year-old golfer was facing huge challenges on the greens. At that point, he was stuck at four major wins for six years. Regardless, he shared one important bit about his approach to his games. “It’s how you react and respond to certain things. I’ve got this nice quote that I got from someone last week, and it’s like let — don’t let your golf influence your attitude; let your attitude influence your golf.” Of course, Woods shared a somewhat similar attitude on the greens. He was cocky and confident, and he had every right to be.
Their first comparison came back in 2024 when McIlroy won at the DP World Tour Championship. After McIlroy’s impressive shot into the 17th, Ewen Murray said: “The finish of McIlroy looking like a Tiger Woods finish. A Jack Nicklaus finish.” A few months later, Williams adds that he admires McIlroy and hopes to see him perform well at the Masters. Well, enough to earn his career Grand Slam. If McIlroy manages to do that, it would be his first major win since 2014, his 5th against Woods’s 15! However, until that day comes, the closest Tiger Woods-like run we have seen in recent years comes from Scottie Scheffler.
Scottie Scheffler may not be the next Tiger Woods but is a close second
Tiger Woods needed three attempts to win his first green jacket. Scottie Scheffler has achieved two wins in five tries, matching Horton Smith‘s record. At 27, Scheffler became the fifth-youngest player to win two Masters titles. Though, he was over two years older than Woods when he reached the same milestone. Then, he is one of only five players to have won two Masters before turning 30. At 28, he still has the potential to clinch a third title at the upcoming Masters. To match Woods, he would need to secure two more consecutive wins. A comeback is for sure anticipated.
On birdie average in their peak years, Scheffler sits with 5.38 per round, surpassing Tiger’s 4.92 average from 2000. Then,
Scheffler made a recent record after dethroning Greg Norman‘s 96 weeks at the top of the OWGR. However, there’s something that will keep both the golfers apart in the margin.
One of the major reasons Tiger Woods stood out next to his contemporaries was that he played golf so well that he wedged a huge gap between everyone else and himself. Well, at least, according to Peter Finch. “When Tiger came out and he was such a dominating force, there was such a bigger gap between Tiger and everyone else, physically, mentally, technically. He was by far a different animal.”
Scottie Scheffler, he says, hasn’t made that kind of distance between his contemporaries and himself. And that’s the reason why we see many talented golfers breaking into games. Like Rory McIlroy. Even if McIlroy agrees he has yet to have the kind of run Tiger Woods and Scottie Scheffler have had. But McIlroy seems promising this season, having clinched two huge wins, including The PLAYERS, before the Masters Tournament–something he has done for the first time in his career. What do you think? Will it get better?
