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Scottie Scheffler gave a knowing smile when an inevitable comparison with Tiger Woods was made in the immediate aftermath of his historic Players Championship victory at Sawgrass.
Such is the current dominance enjoyed by the man who became the first to defend the PGA Tour’s flagship title, some are starting to equate him with the 15-time major champion.
Scheffler’s mind went back to Woods’ tournament, the Genesis Invitational at Riviera, last month.
“I think that’s a funny question,” he smiled.
“I’m not going to remember the exact numbers, but we were playing at ‘Riv’ this year, and I hit my tee ball and this guy yells out, ‘Congrats on being number one Scottie. Eleven more years to go. Eleven more years to go’.”
And, of course, the fan was right. Scheffler is miles away from coming close to the longevity of dominance achieved by Woods in his pomp. But right here, right now, there is an argument to mention the two players in the same breath.
“Any time you can be compared to Tiger is really special, but, I mean, the guy stands alone in our game. He really does,” Scheffler added.
“This is my eighth tournament win now out here, I’ve tied him in Players Championships. Outside of that, I have got 14 more majors and 70-some PGA Tour events to catch up.
“So 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.”
That said, we cannot disregard the level of play that Scheffler is achieving at the moment.
Sunday’s win was his second big title in as many weeks in Florida. The last man to do that double in the Sunshine State was Woods in 2001.
And Scheffler did it in style with an imperious bogey-free final round of 64 to fend off two reigning major champions in Brian Harman and Wyndham Clark.
The Olympic gold medallist Xander Schauffele also tied for second a single shot behind. It was a welcome star-studded leaderboard and just what the beleaguered PGA Tour needed at its flagship championship to showcase its best talent.
For Scheffler it was the narrowest of wins, but it was champion stuff that was in keeping with the way the tall American dominates so many aspects of the game.
This season he tops the PGA Tour charts in scoring average, birdie average, strokes gained, greens in regulation and approach shots to the putting surfaces.
He does not need to putt the lights out to win. When he does – as he did at Bay Hill the week prior – he wins big. Five shots was the margin of victory at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
At Sawgrass he was 37th in strokes gained on the greens, which was decent. Indeed, his work with English coach Phil Kenyon and the switch to a mallet-style putter is paying off nicely.
But the rest of his game is what sets him apart. Last week he was number one in strokes gained off the tee, tee to green and in driving accuracy. He has the ball on a rope with such reliable and powerful ball striking.
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