A former member of the European Tour and two-time winner, Wayne is part of the Sky Sports golf team. He writes exclusively for Golf Monthly
OPINION
It’s been pretty clear since his first year on the PGA Tour that Scottie Scheffler is special, and his exploits over the past few weeks have been nothing short of amazing. After a relatively quiet 2023 – crazy to say about a man who has just won twice, including The Players – he’s come to life ahead of the Major season and it’s looking very ominous for his peers right now.
Scheffler struggled in the middle and end of last season with his putting but he’s now switched to a mallet – something everyone seems to be doing, including yours truly – and looks so much better. He putted the lights out in the final round at Bay Hill and had a positive Strokes Gained: Putting performance at The Players. If he can consistently putt better than average and maintain his great ball-striking, he’ll be untouchable at the top of the world rankings.
While his Arnold Palmer win was impressive, I left TPC Sawgrass with so much admiration. I watched his group during the early stages and genuinely thought he was going to withdraw. I think he would have done if he hadn’t found himself five-under after 12! I know they say beware the injured golfer, but not many would have been able to produce a round like that.
What’s unreal is that he was still struggling with the injury on Sunday when he shot an eight-under-par 64. I can’t speak highly enough about that performance. The PGA Tour really needed a week like that. I think having a dominant figure in the game makes the sport more compelling and Jay Monahan is lucky that Scheffler is driven more by achievements than money. Even still, TV ratings were down for The Players, which will concern the folks in blazers.
I’ve watched Scheffler up-close for a few years and it’s hard to describe how good he is from tee to green. I’ve never seen anyone better. A few years ago Dustin Johnson was close to where Scheffler is now, but Scottie is top of the pile for me. Tiger Woods has produced the best statistical year from tee to green in the last 20 years, but the stats gurus tell me Scheffler isn’t far away.
There are parallels between the two, although we must remember Scheffler, who is 27, only has one Major at this point. Tiger had eight at tha
