After win at Memorial, it's time to start comparing Scottie Scheffler to prime Tiger Woods

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Scottie Scheffler has become inevitable.

It’s not if he’s going to make a run in a tournament, it’s when he’s going to make a run.

The World No. 1 and undisputed king of golf at the moment did it again on Sunday by winning the Memorial Tournament in front of Jack Nicklaus for the second year in a row.

1. The Tiger conversation

Scheffler became the only back-to-back winner in tournament history other than … you guessed it, Tiger Woods, who went back-to-back-to-back from 1999-2001.

It’s over, the time has come. Scottie has now entered the territory where we can start comparing some of his accomplishments to prime Tiger Woods without apologizing for it, or adding in a list of caveats. That in itself is perhaps his most amazing accomplishment.

The margins of victory are what immediately jumps out as Tiger-like in recent months. He won on Sunday by four; he won the PGA Championship by five and he won the Byron Nelson by eight. And all that was in May.

Stats guru Justin Ray posted on Sunday that the list of players with 3+ wins in the same season by four or more shots in the past 30 years is: Tiger 2000, 5 times; Tiger 2003, 3; Scottie 2024, 3; Scottie 2025 3 (so far).

2. Golden Bear comparison

Speaking of Jack Nicklaus, it’s always great to hear the Golden Bear weigh in on anything.

As if what Scheffler is doing isn’t scary enough, Nicklaus had this to say about the world No. 1 on Saturday’s broadcast: “He reminds me a lot of the way I tried to play.”

The comparisons I see between the two are partly in their attitudes. There is/was a matter-of-factness to the way they both go about the game: Head down, consistent, every week showing up at the first tee with the same attitude and plan.

That might not sound like a lot, but it harkens back to the opening line from this newsletter. Jack Nicklaus was inevitable. Scottie Scheffler has become inevitable. And that scares the hell out of the competition.

When you ask other players who played with and against absolute legends in any sport what it was that they were most impressed with, it’s amazing how many times you’ll hear them say something along the lines of, ‘He was the same guy every day.’

That sounds kind of silly, but for professional athletes who know how easy it is to let things slip away for a shot, or a shift, or a day, or a year, it’s that utter sameness, physically, mentally, emotionally, Every. Single. Day. that seems otherworldly.

Jack also talked about a shared ability to play their best when it mattered most. Which is something Scottie also mentioned earlier in the week as being the thing he feels is the entire point of sports and competition.

So, yes, so far we’ve compared him to Jack and Tiger.

RELEASE THE TROLLS!!!

3. Reaching the peak

Padraig Harrington once told me his theory on greatness, and it’s stuck with me ever since. His theory is that almost every player gets 18 months of greatness, but almost nobody gets any more than that.

His idea is that every professional golfer has a prime of about that length.

“Pretty much if you watch everybody’s career they get about 18 months where they truly peak,” he said at the time. “Whether they’re 100th in the world and they become 50th, or 50th becomes 20th, or 20th becomes 10, or 10 becomes one, everybody gets those 18 months where they become a little bit more comfortable with who they are in their game and things happen. It’s hard to peak all your life, it wouldn’t be a peak.”

And that’s it. For almost everyone.

“Some of them think they’re different but they’re not,” he said. “You know, basically history just keeps repeating itself when it comes to golf. We get sucked in at times to thinking that it won’t, but it looks like it just continually does. I’ve seen it before.”

He was speaking about Brooks Koepka at the time in 2019 and he would be proven right. He mentioned Rory McIlroy beginning in 2011. And Jordan Spieth in 2015. And we can add countless others to his list.

The list of players who have shattered Harrington’s rule can probably fit on one hand. Over to you, Scottie.

4. Taylor in good spot before Canadian Open

Speaking of peaking, Nick Taylor has his game in a good place heading into the RBC Canadian Open. The 2023 champion finished solo fourth at The Memorial after an up-and-down weekend.

What I love about Taylor is that he is an absolute gamer. As my American colleagues like to say, he has that dawg in him. Taylor had several opportunities to fold over the weekend during some bad stretches, but refused to do so.

If Taylor is playing at a course and in conditions where he can get his ball into the fairway and far enough out there to let his iron play shine, he can get himself into contention on Sunday. And there is no Canadian you’d rather have in contention late afternoon in the final round.

FUN FACT: He’s the only player to win Canadian Junior, Canadian Amateur, and Canadian Open titles.

Let’s hope he can get in the mix again this coming Sunday.

5. Ready to get to Caledon

I can’t wait to get onsite this week at TPC Toronto for the RBC Canadian Open. With such a vast venue and a site that has grown and been developed for this moment, it’s going to be great to see the vision Golf Canada and RBC have for the future of the tournament.

It won’t be without some growing pains and we’ll see how troublesome it is to get people in and out of a rural town such as Caledon. But it’s a beautiful part of Ontario, it’s 30-40 minutes from Pearson airport and you get the sense that whatever is missing, will be built there by the next time the golf world arrives.

With TPC Toronto being the new de facto home of the tournament for years to come (whenever it’s not making its stops at the GTA’s top classic private clubs) this week’s event is not an experiment, it’s the new reality.