Scheffler and the pursuit of satisfaction: The window to greatness is open…but for how long?
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There is no denying Scottie Scheffler’s superiority, but keeping his pedal to the metal is key to filling up the Major swag bag and joining golf’s top table.
Can you have too much green in your wardrobe? Probably not if it’s of the Augusta shade. A splash of red wouldn’t go a miss though.
Dwelling on a second Masters title in three years was something Scottie Scheffler didn’t have time for. Getting back home to check in on his heavily pregnant wife, Meredith was understandably the only thing on the World No.1’s agenda.
It’s at this point that you wouldn’t begrudge a soon-to-be first-time father a week to put his feet up and reflect on an unprecedented start to the year that has seen him win in 40% of his starts, only finishing outside the top 10 once.
That wasn’t in Scottie’s schedule, however. Getting “back to the grind pretty quick” was.
While celebrating successes in elite sports is widely accepted as important and healthy, doing so at the expense of killing precious momentum could be considered negligent by the game’s most conscientious.
At least that is how we can interpret Scheffler’s decision to bounce back into action last week at the RBC Heritage, not just for a ceremonial procession around the Harbour Town Links, but to compete with the same hunger that eats away at a man “endlessly unsatisfied” by the sport he dominates.
Challenging atop the leaderboard would have more than shown that desire, but another landslide victory over a stacked field? It was symbolic.
It’s hard to find more superlatives without drawing the obvious comparison. It would be lazy, and premature at this stage of the 27-year-old’s career.
For now, seeing Scottie pull on Mon Day Red tartan after Sunday’s abandoned final round at Hilton Head is enough of a likeness. A more impressive feat than winning the Masters, no, but a more impressive statement of what’s to come…probably.
We should also try to comprehend that Scottie has now shot 39 consecutive rounds under par. I’m still struggling.
We only need to remind ourselves of his post-Masters press conference to see the unique mindset behind the unique swing and wonder if this combination of attributes will propel Scheffler above and beyond the post-Tiger pretenders.
“I believe that today’s plans were already laid out many years ago, and I could do nothing to mess up those plans. I have been given a gift of this talent, and I use it for God’s glory, said the World No.1.
“I really want to win. I feel like that’s how I was designed. I’ve been that way since I was a young kid. That’s always been a part of me, and I don’t think that should be going away anytime soon. I feel like playing professional golf is an endlessly not satisfying career.”
Faith, talent, competitiveness, desire. These are the raw ingredients that have baked in his name to the top of strokes-gained leaderboards across the past two seasons.
Winning golf tournaments is just a by-product for Scottie. It’s not the pursuit of satisfaction, but the satisfaction in the pursuit that drives him, and that does feel Tiger-esque. Sorry, I said it.
Fifteen Majors spanning 22 years from first to last for the man who has now made 24 consecutive Masters cuts. That’s longevity.
In more recent times, golf’s conveyor belt of champions has been rolling at a faster pace, with few managing to cling on and keep adding to their Major tally.
Rory’s four Majors came within three years, as did Jordan Spieth’s trio. Both hauls have remained stagnant since. Before winning the PGA Championship for a third time last year, Brooks Koepka’s four Majors had the same smash-and-grab hallmarks.
Rahm, Morikawa, Bubba, DJ, and JT. The window of opportunity is typically no longer than an Olympic cycle for most, and capitalizing while the irons are hot appears key.
And, we have all seen just how hot those irons can get.
It’s easy to get carried away in sport, but with Scheffler it feels more than a purple patch, and diving into the stats only fuels the building expectation.
Winning at Hilton Head sees Scheffler become the first player since Tiger to win on the PGA Tour the week following a Major triumph. He also joins an exclusive club with Tiger, Vijay Singh, and Phil Mickelson as players with multiple four-win seasons since 2000.
In winning the Masters, The Players, and two long-standing invitationals in the Arnold Palmer Invitational and RBC Heritage, Scheffler achieved in 44 days what no other player has managed to across their whole career.
He’s consistently beating high-quality fields, beating eight of the top 10 players in the OGWRs in his last seven wins, and is going for stretches of almost 70 holes without making a bogey.
OK, LIV’s merry band of brothers isn’t always present, but we saw how quickly their challenge evaporated at Augusta.
The PGA Tour moves to New Orleans this week for the Zurich Classic where we see the first return to competitive paired action since the Ryder Cup. It’s a timely reminder of Louisianan looper Ted Scott who has been a constant at Scottie’s right-hand side throughout his 10 wins and the importance of ‘team’, even in the individual format of the game.
Together the pair have scrambled together $18.5 million this year alone, now sitting inside the all-time top-10 PGA Tour earners.
Keeping the money ball rolling will likely be Scheffler’s next challenge. Unless acted on by an equally powerful force, the trajectory to golfing folklore is surely an inevitability.
So, what are those external forces? Do they exist?
Well, on the golf course, there is always a ‘next’. And front of the queue in the eyes of many is the unflappable Swede Ludvig Aberg. The Ryder Cup rookie was dubbed a ‘generational talent’ by Luke Donald and has lived up to that billing since bursting onto the PGA Tour and pushing Scottie all the way in what was his first-ever Major appearance.
The strength in depth on the PGA Tour has never been greater, yet the likes of Rory, Morikawa, Spieth, Homa, Schauffele, and Clark can’t seem to find an answer to Scheffler’s relentless consistency. At least not in Q1 of the year where all 10 of his PGA Tour wins have fallen.
Ominously, the well-documented putting woes now feel like an outdated narrative. He’s up from 162nd to 96th in the season’s putting leaderboards thanks to some able assistance from the world’s best-putting coach, Phil Kenyon. Nothing to threaten the resume, but a clear sign his weaknesses are becoming less vulnerable. Finishing the Heritage 38th in the putting stats was enough for a comfortable three-stroke victory.
Off the course is perhaps the biggest unknown to plotting Scheffler’s trajectory over the next couple of years. How will becoming a new father affect that endless quest for more?
We simply don’t know, and neither does he. But he has already made it clear that golf will drop to priority No.4 behind the holy trinity of newborn baby, wife Meredith, and his faith.
The “quite large” gap as described by Max Homa must close at some point, but only when the chasing pack steps up proportionally or more to any Scheffler demise.
One final sobering thought for the competition though.
Scottie’s lead in the world rankings over No. 2 Rory McIlroy is bigger than McIlroy’s lead over No. 784 Tiger Woods. Now that’s got to be pretty satisfying!
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About the author
Ross Tugwood
Senior Digital Writer
Ross Tugwood is a golf equipment writer for todays-golfer.com, specializing in data, analytics, science, and innovation.
Ross is passionate about optimizing sports performance and has a decade of experience working with professional athletes and coaches for British Athletics, the UK Sports Institute, and Team GB.
He has post-graduate degrees in Performance Analysis and Sports Journalism, enabling him to critically analyze and review the latest golf equipment and technology to help you make better-informed buying decisions.
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Scottie Scheffler is playing in a league of his own right now.
