Every Wednesday, SI Golf will rank nine newsmakers from the golf world. Sometimes we’ll cast a wide net. Tell us what you think on the SI Golf X account.
1. Scottie Scheffler: Don’t we do this every week? Well, kind of. The world No. 1 won his fifth title of the year at the BMW Championship, despite entering the final round four strokes back. What makes this victory special? Scheffler is the first player since Tiger Woods in 2006 and ‘07 to win five or more events in consecutive seasons.
2. Robert MacIntyre: Golf is a funny game. The Scot played flawlessly during the first three days of the BMW Championship, but a final-round 73 came up two shots short of Scheffler. He was heated, saying, “Right now, I want to go and smash up my golf clubs, to be honest with you.” Every player loves to win, but those who really hate to lose are the ones to watch out for.
3. Jon Rahm: Think the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup playoff format needs an overhaul? Well, Rahm claimed the season-long individual LIV Golf league title—and $18 million—despite not winning a tournament all year. Joaquin Niemann, meanwhile, won five times this year and finished second.
4. Rory McIlroy: Last Wednesday feels like an eternity ago, but in his pre-tournament presser at the BMW Championship, McIlroy raised eyebrows when he revealed he was offered a chance to be a playing captain for a future European Ryder Cup team, but turned it down because he didn’t think he could do both roles simultaneously. Of course, Keegan Bradley is mulling over whether he should do that this year for Team USA. And when Bradley was told about McIlroy’s comments, he said, “[McIlroy] might be right.”
5. Ben Griffin: The two-time Tour winner began the BMW’s final round by playing his first three holes at 6 over. Why? He overdosed on a “snowball” of creatine, causing tremors. He then chugged a bottle of water and went on to shoot 1 under for the round.
6. Bryson DeChambeau: The 2025 U.S. Ryder Cup team will play the PGA Tour’s Procore Championship as a tune-up for Bethpage. However, DeChambeau, who is expected to be Team USA’s lone LIV player, will be barred from the tournament, as he’s suspended by the PGA Tour. The two-time U.S. Open champion then told SI last week in Indianapolis, “It’s a scenario that’s unfortunate, and I wish it was different, but LIV’s willing to let me play.” It’s important to note, though, that if there was a LIV event that week, LIV would not let him play.
7. Niall Shiels-Donegan: Everybody loves a hometown hero, and at the U.S. Amateur at the Olympic Club, he created scenes out of a movie. The UNC Tar Heel, who grew up about an hour away from Olympic in Mill Valley (though he was born in Scotland), made it to the semifinals of the championship. His supporters from home crossed the Golden Gate Bridge to cheer him on—he’s also the son of a former golf columnist at The Guardian. After the 20-year-old’s Round of 16 and quarterfinal wins, the gallery jubilantly celebrated behind him in his post-round Golf Channel interview, making it difficult to hear (in a good way). The clips went viral, with the USGA tweeting, “This has to be one of the greatest post-round interviews in U.S. Amateur history.” Also, kudos to the man conducting the interviews, Brentley Romine, my fantasy baseball confidant.
8. Mason Howell: The 18-year-old high school senior won the U.S. Amateur with a 7 and 6 victory, the most lopsided final match since DeChambeau’s win in 2015. Howell is also the third youngest winner of the championship, surpassing Tiger Woods, and the first high schooler to win since Matt Fitzpatrick in 2013. Take a bow.
9. Akie Iwai: Whew, what a busy week in golf. Several names could still have made this list. But for the final spot, let’s go with a wild card: Iwai. The 23-year-old claimed her first LPGA title at the Portland Classic, and earlier this year, her twin sister, Chisato, also won on tour. They are now the fourth set of sisters to have won on the LPGA. Through 21 LPGA tournaments this year, there has not been a repeat champion, so this might be the closest to that.
Also considered (this is going to be a grand list): Sebastian Munoz, Henrik Stenson, Anthony Kim, Juli Inkster, Rickie Fowler, Harry Hall, Akshay Bhatia, Michael Kim, Daniel Berger, Joaquin Niemann, Gary Player, Jackson Herrington, Jimmy Abdo, Keegan Bradley, Xander Schauffele
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Power Nine: Scottie Scheffler Has Entered ‘Tiger Territory’.
