Tiger Woods and Scottie Scheffler compete in the Hero World Challenge on Sunday.
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like perfect and thrilling, tiger like tiger is an adjective that should be used with caution.
But it’s hard not to draw comparisons to Tiger Woods when assessing Scotty Scheffler’s 2024 finish, and not just because Woods looked approvingly at Sunday’s Hero World Challenge as Scheffler joined Woods and Vijay Singh joins the ranks as the only players in the modern era to win nine games – Nine times, Mrs. Buller! ——In one season.
It’s the integrity of Scheffler’s game that most evokes Woods at his best, coupled with Scheffler’s superhuman ability to find a way to win even when he’s not at his sharpest. After a comfortable six-shot victory in the Bahamas on Sunday night, Scheffler was asked if he was satisfied with his final-round 9-under 63. satisfy.
“Yes,” he began. “I mean, you know, I’m just grateful to be sitting here with the trophy. My goal or anything today was to hopefully win the game and I felt like I played well enough to win the game and be able to finish. .
good enoughHa ha. On this day, no other player performed better than 67.
Scheffler “only” had to beat 19 other players in Albany, but his stats suggest he probably beat 119 players if asked.
Scheffler leads in at least 11 statistical categories, including SG: tee to green (+3.23), SG: approach (+1.69), 3 putts avoided (0) and scoring average (67.8). This dominance isn’t a surprise as it’s just a continuation of what Scheffler has been doing all season. In 2024, he leads the Tour in SG: tee to green (+2.401), SG: approach to green (1.277), scoring average (68.645) and birdie average (4.88).
“It’s been a really fun year,” Scheffler said in typically unassuming fashion on Sunday, summing up his $63 million season. Makes you wonder what qualifies as qualified Very An interesting year. To recap, Scheffler won his second green jacket, defended his Players Championship, and won five other signature events, including the Tour Championship, which gave him FedEx Cup honors. He also won a gold medal in Paris and, oh yes, became a father.
Scheffler made this game — and winning — look easy. He will tell you that none of these things are true. In fact, he said the same thing on Sunday. “I would say golf rarely feels easy,” he said. “I see a lot of players when they have a great game and it looks easy and then you’re done and you talk to them about it, but it’s never that easy.”
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This is especially true when expectations are high, as they have been for Scheffler all year. Victories may lead to victories, but they can also lead to others thinking more victories are to come. In fact, winning is one thing when you’re cruising under the radar and shooting a fantastic Sunday 64 to sneak past your opponent and capture, say, your third career title. It’s a completely different story when you’re a prohibitive betting favorite and have to face the media after every round. expected Participate in the hunt. It’s a different type of pressure that few players have to deal with.
Just ask Justin Thomas, who said of Scheffler earlier last week: “I think he’s underrated.” [people] expect [him] Played so well. I don’t think people understand how hard it is to win when you’re expected to win or when everyone expects you to play well and you expect you to play well and still play well. I think expectations are a very, very difficult thing to manage. It’s truly a gift, just like being able to control distance with a wedge or fly a driver or hit the ball really far – whatever it is, just being able to stay in the moment, stay in the moment.
Thomas said that among his Tour brothers, none are better at executing these mental gymnastics than Scheffler and Xander Schauffele, who won two majors this year.
“It’s hard to explain, but sometimes it’s hard to do,” continued Thomas, who knows a thing or two about winning streaks himself (he won five times in 2017, including a major). “When you play that well, sometimes it’s harder because it’s easy to think, well, if I keep playing like this, I’m going to win this game and I’m going to win the next game and the next game with real Compared to – I mean, Tiger always talks about this, every at-bat is the most important shot you ever hit in your life, and after you hit that one, you do it again, and then The next thing you know you’re going to like Oh, I’m winning again This is a hard thing to do, and that’s the most impressive thing about Scotty.
There is no argument here.
