It is hard to argue with those who have decided to award Scottie Scheffler the Claret Jug already after the world number one took the lead at The Open Championship at the halfway stage at Royal Portrush.
Following his performance at the Genesis Scottish Open last week, there were questions surrounding whether Scottie Scheffler was going to be able to find his best form in the final major of the year.
Obviously, Scheffler’s B game seems to be at least competitive with the very best. It is some time since he finished outside of the top 10 on the PGA Tour this year. And of course, he has won three times already.
In fact, Scheffler could soon have a fourth victory of 2025 under his belt. He goes into the third round of The Open Championship with a one shot lead over Matthew Fitzpatrick.
Brandel Chamblee compares Scottie Scheffler and Tiger Woods as the world number one takes charge of The Open Championship
You would imagine that a couple of players will look to make a charge over the weekend. However, it is going to take something special for anyone to prevent Scheffler from winning The Open.
Scheffler was always going to struggle to replicate his remarkable performance from 2024, when he won nine times worldwide. But a season in which he wins two major titles would be a fitting sequel for the 29-year-old.
It would confirm beyond any doubt that Scheffler is an all-time great. In fact, it would potentially further open up the debate regarding where he ranks among the very best to have ever played the game.
Speaking on Golf Channel, Brandel Chamblee noted that his peers would still find themselves adrift of Scheffler if they got considerably better. He then spoke about the size of the gap between Scheffler and Tiger Woods.
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“People will say, ‘well, he just makes things look so simple. He’s boring’. And I would say that’s a testament, the fact that he does make something look so simple, and Tiger Woods did this and Jack Nicklaus did this, and I think it’s just a testament to the truest mastery, the absolute height of the game. And it’s so rare that you see someone take this game to a level where there is no past, there is no future, they’re completely and always in the moment. They’re not thinking about their golf swing,” he said.
“You don’t see Scottie Scheffler out there grinding away thinking about his golf. It’s rare, very rare when you do. The odd time he’ll get out of sorts. But what we’ve seen the last couple of days is absolute true mastery.
“And just to underscore the genius that we’re witnessing, and we’ve done this several times, but I want to do it just a little different way here, just compare his strokes gained ball-striking to his closest peers, world rank. You take a look at it and what you see is even if the next four players in the world, if you doubled what they’re doing strokes gained ball-striking, they still would not be anywhere near as good as Scottie Scheffler. So he is more than twice as good as his closest competitors to ball-striking. You think how good Justin Thomas, Russell Henley, Xander Schauffele, Rory McIlroy can hit a golf ball, he is more than twice as good as them in strokes gained ball-striking.
PlayerStrokes gained per round (2025)Scottie Scheffler+2.01Rory McIlroy+0.81Xander Schauffele+0.66Justin Thomas+0.64Russell Henley+0.55Credit Golf Channel
“Now, you would say – and we often do – this is Tiger level. Tiger and Scottie, yes, it’s close. You wonder why Tiger Woods has won 82 times and 15 majors, because Tiger Woods was even more than twice as good as his closest competitors. But you look, Scottie Scheffler is in touch. You can’t say that Tiger Woods is twice as good as Scottie Scheffler. He’s in touch with him.
“These are Scottie Scheffler’s last three years in strokes gained ball-striking. And I’m cherrypicking here, because I’m picking Tiger Woods’ best ever three years. And there were only two years where he was better. So you see what we’re looking at here. If you thought we were never going to see Tiger Woods again in terms of ball-striking, guess again.”
Top three strokes gained ball-striking seasonsTiger WoodsScottie SchefflerBest+2.88+2.22Second Best+2.28+2.09Third Best+1.78+2.01Credit Golf ChannelScottie Scheffler has a chance to emulate Tiger Woods 25 years after his amazing performance at St Andrews
Woods was putting together the Tiger Slam when he won the fourth major title of his career. It was the 21st major championship he had played.
Should Scheffler win this week, he will have reached four major titles in 25 events. That is a frightening record, particularly as he has been so consistent over the last three years. There is surely plenty more to come in the years ahead.
Woods secured his fourth major at St Andrews at The Open Championship in 2000.
Scheffler will have to wait a little longer to complete the Career Grand Slam as Woods did, but it would be no surprise to see him also secure his fourth major in the British Isles given the position he has got himself into.
