It is almost impossible not to consider where Scottie Scheffler may rank among the all-time greats by the time his career ends after securing his third and fourth major titles in 2025.
It says everything that Rory McIlroy looks a long way off winning the PGA Tour Player of the Year in a season in which he completed the Career Grand Slam. Scottie Scheffler has won four times, including two major titles in recent months.
He has a long way to go, but it is definitely ominous for his rivals that Scheffler has been so impressive for four seasons now. The world number one is now just a US Open victory away from completing the Career Grand Slam.
He seems to be on a trajectory which would put Scheffler alongside the likes of Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods. Of course, it seems to be far too soon to say whether the 29-year-old will be able to sustain his current form over an even longer period.
Jim Mackay compares Scottie Scheffler with Tiger Woods
One person who will have a good idea of the heights Scheffler could reach is Jim ‘Bones’ Mackay – the longtime caddie for Phil Mickelson who now works as an on-course reporter.
Mackay had one of the best seats in the house while Tiger Woods was at the peak of his powers. He also got to watch the majority of Scheffler’s performance at Royal Portrush last month as he clinched The Open Championship from inside the ropes.
And speaking on Fried Egg Golf, Mackay explained where he currently thinks Scheffler ranks against Woods, with the 15-time major champion setting the standard in his mind.
“For me, it’s where he gets to mentally. He looks like a guy out there when he’s playing that’s got nothing bothering him in the world other than the task at hand on the golf course, on that particular hole that day. He strikes me as a guy who has very little baggage in terms of what he brings to the golf course. He’s supremely confident,” he said.
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“And it’s fascinating to watch him go about his business. I mentioned Nicklaus a couple of minutes ago and that’s the guy I compare him to quite a bit in terms of the way he goes about his business. It’s just head down and walk to the green, hit your putt, go to the next tee, go through your process with Ted Scott. I covered him for 54 holes at The Open Championship and we never spoke once. As an on-course reporter, you tend to have the occasional conversation with players here and there. Scottie’s so plugged in, he’s just doing his thing, and I completely leave him alone when we’re out there. It’s fascinating to go about seeing it.
“You talk about the comparisons potentially to Tiger Woods. They’re different in the way they go about their business. And as I said at The Open Championship, I didn’t think in my lifetime I’d see a player that I would be willing to say, ‘gosh, this guy, he’s close to Tiger’. He’s certainly not Tiger Woods. Tiger Woods is the best player I’ve ever seen and probably will see through the course of my lifetime. But Scottie, he’s an amazing, amazing player.”
How many majors Tiger Woods won before he turned 30 with Scottie Scheffler taking his tally to four
Scheffler has some way to go to catch Woods’ major tally at the same age.
By the time Woods turned 30 in December 2005, he had already won 10 major titles, including The Masters on four occasions.
Scheffler is set to play in three more majors before his 30th birthday. So he could potentially get to seven.
The gap between the two, however, is a lot closer if you look at how quickly both men reached four major wins. The Open Championship this year marked Scheffler’s 25th major appearance.
Meanwhile, Woods won his fourth major on his 21st start. That win also came at The Open Championship 25 years earlier.
Few would have imagined that Woods would only – which, in itself, seems ridiculous to say – win five more majors. So it is almost impossible to know what the future holds for Scheffler.
But given how consistent he has been, there is very little reason to think right now that he cannot continue to dominate for several years to come.
