Few people understand the level at which Scottie Scheffler is currently playing. With four wins across his last five starts, the term "Tiger-like" has been thrown around to explain what Scheffler is doing on the PGA Tour right now.
It is not an unfair comparison, and Tiger Woods is indeed the one golfer who can relate to Scottie's current run of play.
According to Data Golf's all-time ranking, which uses a formula that measures the last 150 rounds a golfer has played, Woods and Scheffler have put together the hottest streaks in golf over the last 25 years.
Let's take a look at the top 10.
| Golfer | Strokes gained | Last 150 Rounds ending |
|---|---|---|
Tiger Woods | 3.89 | September 2000 |
Scottie Scheffler | 3.04 | April 2024 |
Vijay Singh | 2.96 | February 2004 |
David Duval | 2.88 | April 1999 |
Ernie Els | 2.74 | August 2004 |
Jon Rahm | 2.73 | February 2023 |
Jordan Spieth | 2.67 | August 2015 |
Jason Day | 2.62 | September 2015 |
Rory McIlroy | 2.61 | August 2023 |
Jim Furyk | 2.60 | October 2006 |
Woods and Scheffler are the only two golfers to crack 3.0 strokes gained per round in the Data Golf Index. It's an astounding number that even the best players of the last 25 years have struggled to reach over longer arcs of time.
So, when Woods talks Scheffler, as he did Wednesday on "The Today Show," it's worth listening to his perspective.
"His iconic foot movement belies what the club is actually doing through the golf ball: how good it is, how stable it is, how solid he hits it," Tiger explained. "You just stand back and you just watch ball flight, there's something different about his. It's just so consistent. He works it both ways."
Everyone gets wound up about Scheffler's foot shuffling, but they rarely discuss how he hits the ball exactly where he wants to hit it almost every single time he swings. That's remarkable, and it's perhaps the most significant reason he's won four of five events and why he's been more than a shot per round better than the second best player in the world so far in 2024 (Xander Schauffele).
"If he putts decent, he's going to win," said Woods in reference to Scheffler starting any given tournament. "If he putts great, he blows away fields. If he has a bad putting week, he contends. He's just that good of a ball-striker."
This is more or less the case. Scheffler has gained at least 0.80 strokes or better with his putter four times in fully measured 72-hole events this season. He's won all four.
In his two positive putting weeks just behind those, he finished T3 and T2. In his three negative putting weeks, he finished T5, T17 and T10.
So, Woods' analysis is right on. And what a boon for Scheffler as he tries to take his roll into the next three major championships.
At some sports books, Scheffler is currently 40-1 to win the grand slam, a feat not even Woods could achieve. The closest Tiger ever came was in 2000 when he won three majors and finished in the top 10 at the Masters.
Of course, he won the Masters the following year to touch off the Tiger Slam, a feat in which he held all four major trophies and the Players Championship trophy at the same time.
Scheffler currently has two of those five with the PGA Championship on deck in just two weeks.
