Scheffler Wins Again, and the Tiger Woods Comparisons Are Back in Full Force
World number one Scottie Scheffler has begun his season in ominous form by winning a landmark 20th PGA Tour event to further strengthen comparisons with Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus.
Scheffler is the second-fastest player to that number in terms of days taken, third fastest in events played and third youngest to reach the milestone.
While Woods and Nicklaus remain the benchmark, Scheffler, who won the American Express in California by four shots on Sunday, is continuing to post impressive stats in this era of the game.
Scheffler won the £1.236m ($1.656m) first prize 1,442 days after his first victory at the WM Phoenix Open in 2022. Woods took 1,351 days.
It was his 151st appearance on the PGA Tour. Woods took 95 events to reach 20 wins, Nicklaus 127.
Scheffler is the first player since Rory McIlroy in 2021 to reach the mark, and with it he earns a lifetime exemption on the American circuit.
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The 29-year-old also joins Woods and Nicklaus in being the only players to win 20 PGA Tour events and four majors under the age of 30.
Woods has won a joint-record 82 PGA Tour titles and 15 majors and still harbours hopes of improving those numbers. Nicklaus holds the majors record with 18, alongside his 73 PGA Tour victories between 1962-86.
Four-time major winner Scheffler also becomes the third player – after Woods and McIlroy – to win $100m on the PGA Tour.
Naturally, given the increased prize money on offer, he has done so in far fewer events. McIlroy, who has claimed 29 PGA Tour victories, has won $107,981,766 in 273 starts on the PGA Tour, while Woods’ total career earnings of $120,999,166 has come from 378 events.
“It’s pretty wild,” said Scheffler who closed with a six-under 66 to move ahead of overnight leader Si-Woo Kim of South Korea and win his first tour event of the season on 27 under.
“It has been a great start to my career and I’ve had some nice wins out there. It has been special and I try not to think about that stuff too much.
“Going into the season, I was just trying to do the things I needed to do in order to be prepared to come out and play this week. I’m going to go home, get some rest and kind of rinse and repeat.”
Scheffler recorded seven birdies to break away from the chasing pack, before a double bogey on the 17th, after finding the water, led to him missing out on the chance to become the first golfer in 16 years to reach 30 under in the tournament.
He finished ahead of compatriots Ryan Gerard (65), Matt McCarty (68), Andrew Putnam (68) and Australia’s Jason Day (64), who all finished on 23 under.
Blades Brown, 18, who was bidding to become the second-youngest golfer to win a PGA Tour event, faded to finish joint-18th on 19 under.
The American teenager and Scheffler had trailed Kim by one shot after Saturday’s play, with the Korean carding a 72 to finish joint-sixth.
