All the greats have that one unforgettable shot that golf fans can recall in a heartbeat, and Scottie Scheffler had his on Monday morning AEST.
If a video of one of those shots pops up on social media, most golf lovers can tell you instantly what is about to happen, where they were when it did happen, and how it made them feel.
Think Tiger Woods’ famous chip-in at the par 3 16th at Augusta National in 2005.
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The one he had no right to make, that trickled down the hill and stopped briefly on the edge of the cup with the Nike logo facing the camera almost as if it was from an advertisement before dropping in.
Rory McIlroy had his moment with his high drawing 7-iron at the par 5 15th on his way to winning his maiden green jacket at this year’s Masters.
Phil Mickelson had his when he shaped a 6-iron around the tree at the par 5 13th before he won his third green jacket in 2010.
Scheffler claims 5th PGA crown of 2025 | 01:10
Unlike those jaw-dropping shots, two-time Masters champion Scottie Scheffler’s chip-in did not happen at Augusta National.
Scheffler’s signature moment came from beside the 17th green at Caves Valley Golf Club in Maryland in the final round of the BMW Championship, the penultimate event of the PGA Tour playoffs.
The world No.1 missed the green at the par 3 while holding a one-shot lead on playing partner and overnight leader Bob MacInytre, who started the final round with a four-shot buffer.
As a result, he had to tackle a daunting, near 25-metre, downhill chip from the rough that appeared near impossible to get close to the hole.
It is the sort of shot that gives just about every other golfer in the world nightmares.
The difficulty of the task at hand went against every grain of Scheffler’s reputation for making golf look easy.
His swing may not be conventional with his now iconic shuffle, but the four-time major champion’s ability to find the fairway off the tee and follow it up by hitting the green with his irons and wedges time after time makes the game look incredibly simple as he opens up commanding leads that cannot be reined in.
OWINGS MILLS, MARYLAND – AUGUST 17: Scottie Scheffler of the United States poses with the Western Golf Association (WGA) Open J.K. Wadley Championship Cup trophy and the tournament trophy after the final round of the BMW Championship 2025 at Caves Valley Golf Club on August 17, 2025 in Owings Mills, Maryland. Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by Kevin C. Cox / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)Source: AFP
It is why he had been labelled boring by golf fans.
There is nothing boring about tearing up the world’s best golf courses, but sometimes it takes the art of recovery for a great’s genius to be truly appreciated.
Scheffler’s consistency has meant those moments are fleeting in his career.
Unlike the average golfer, Scheffler is rarely where you are not meant to be.
But this time around, he could show off his artistry with a shot to add to the various YouTube compilations showcasing golf’s greatest shots.
With hands as soft as melted butter, Scheffler popped his Titleist 8 out of the rough, landed on the downslope and off it went at the perfect speed.
For the 12 seconds that it took the ball to roll across the green after landing, hearts were in mouths before an explosion of emotion in the surrounding grandstands upon the ball coming to rest at the bottom of the cup.
It was perhaps a precursor to next month’s Ryder Cup with an American crowd going bananas for one of their men outdoing a European rival.
“Yeah, he’s hit a great shot,” a shattered MacIntyre said. “Nothing you can do with that. I just didn’t play good enough.”
OWINGS MILLS, MARYLAND – AUGUST 17: Scottie Scheffler of the United States reacts to his birdie putt on the 17th green during the final round of the BMW Championship 2025 at Caves Valley Golf Club on August 17, 2025 in Owings Mills, Maryland. Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by Kevin C. Cox / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)Source: AFP
Rickie Fowler summed it up by saying, “ahhh, he’s darn good”.
“Made that chip look quite a bit easier than it is. It’s easy to hit that 12 feet past, or down onto the fringe,” Fowler added.
On the broadcast, NBC commentator Terry Gannon was in disbelief.
“You just shake your head at what you’re watching during this era from that man,” Gannon said.
American sporting royalty like NBA superstar LeBron James and NFL counterpart Patrick Mahomes taking to social media to exclaim their praise.
Scheffler himself was far more understated in typical fashion.
“I knew it was an important shot in the golf tournament,” he said.
“Bob made a nice birdie there on 16, and I knew it was going to be a battle all the way until the end.
“Starting the day four shots back, Bob made some mistakes early in the round, but I knew he wasn’t going to make many more as the day went on.
“He did a good job of battling all day without his best stuff.
“When that chip goes in, you know it’s a pretty cool shot, but the job is not nearly finished after that.
“Bob could just as easily chip his in, and you don’t know what’s going to happen, so you’ve got to stay focused and did a good job hitting the fairway and the green there on 18 and gave myself a pretty stress-free par.”
It is not Scheffler’s style to pump up his own feats.
This chip-in was not as high stakes like Woods, McIlroy or Mickelson on their way to a green jacket, but Scheffler’s incredible shot opened up a two-shot lead, and effectively sealed his fifth victory of the year.
It was his 18th PGA Tour title, and it once again drew comparisons to Woods.
OWINGS MILLS, MARYLAND – AUGUST 17: Scottie Scheffler of the United States poses with the Western Golf Association (WGA) Open J.K. Wadley Championship Cup trophy and the tournament trophy after the final round of the BMW Championship 2025 at Caves Valley Golf Club on August 17, 2025 in Owings Mills, Maryland. Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by Kevin C. Cox / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)Source: AFP
Scheffler shut them down as “silly” after his Open victory at Royal Portrush, but there is no denying that they are the only two players in the last 40 years that have won five times or more on the PGA Tour in back-to-back years.
Scheffler was right in saying he has a long way to go in matching the feats of Woods, but there is now no denying that his recent success is Tiger-like.
The cynics had poured cold water on such adulation by lamenting Scheffler for being boring.
But that perception is changing, helped massively by his revered performance in Happy Gilmore 2 where (sorry in advance for any spoilers) he makes light of his arrest at last year’s PGA Championship.
Scheffler arguably won himself more fans than any of the other current professionals who featured in the sequel of the Adam Sandler classic.
The reception he received from the adoring galleries the past week was arguably bigger than ever in his career.
His fan base will undoubtedly grown even further if he can deliver more spectacular moments.
Perhaps he should miss the green more often.
