Scottie Scheffler flashed a knowing smile when an inevitable Tiger Woods comparison was made immediately following his historic Players Championship victory at Sawgrass.
The current dominance of the man who became the first to defend the PGA Tour’s flagship title is such that some are starting to equate him with the 15-time major champion.
Scheffler’s mind returned to Woods’ tournament, the Genesis Invitational at Riviera, last month.
“I think that’s a funny question,” he smiles.
“I don’t remember the exact numbers, but we were playing ‘Riv’ this year, and I hit my tee ball and this guy yelled, ‘Congratulations, you’re number one Scottie. Eleven years to go.’ Eleven still 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 prime. But here and now, there’s an argument for mentioning both players in the same breath.
“Any time you can be compared to Tiger, it’s really special, but, I mean, the guy is alone in our game. He really is,” Scheffler added.
“This is my eighth tournament victory here, tying it in the Players Championships. Apart from that, I have 14 other majors and some 70 PGA Tour events to catch up on.
“So I think I’ll stick to my routine and keep plotting, try to stay as balanced as possible.”
That said, we cannot ignore the level of play Scheffler is currently achieving.
Sunday’s victory was his second major title in as many weeks in Florida. The last man to achieve this double in the Sunshine State was Woods in 2001.
And Scheffler did it in style with a commanding bogey-free final round of 64 to fend off two reigning major champions, Brian Harman and Wyndham Clark.
Olympic gold medalist Xander Schauffele also finished tied for second, one stroke behind. It was a welcome star-studded ranking and exactly what the beleaguered PGA Tour needed at its flagship championship to showcase its best talent.
For Scheffler, it was the narrowest of victories, but it was a championship victory that fit the way the big American dominates so many aspects of the game.
This season, he leads the PGA Tour in scoring average, birdie average, strokes gained, greens in regulation and approach shots to putting surfaces.
He doesn’t need to turn out the lights to win. When he does – like he did at Bay Hill the week before – he wins big. Five shots was the margin of victory at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
At Sawgrass, he was 37th in strokes gained on greens, which was okay. Indeed, his work with English coach Phil Kenyon and the switch to a mallet-type putter are paying off.
But it’s the rest of his game that sets him apart. Last week, he was number one in strokes gained from tee, tee to green and drive accuracy. He has the ball on a string with such reliable and powerful ball striking.