Scottie Scheffler — Tiger Woods by the numbers: It’s closer than you think

Once again, Scottie Scheffler had that killer instinct on Sunday at The Masters.

Like he did at The Players Championship one month ago, Scheffler relied on his exquisite ball-striking to triumph at Augusta National and thus further cemented himself as the top player in the sport.

Scheffler was a man on a mission, dissecting Augusta’s back nine en route to a second Green Jacket in three years. He had that same drive last month, when he became the first player to win The Players in back-to-back years.

He again looked like Tiger Woods in his prime on Sunday. Scheffler chased down another trophy with a disciplined yet flawless style of play while others around him caved under pressure.

“Anytime you can be compared to Tiger, I think, is really special, but the guy stands alone in our game,” Scheffler said after his victory at TPC Sawgrass. “He really does.”

His post-victory press conference at The Players was not the first time Scheffler received a comparison to Woods.

“I’m not going to remember the exact numbers,” Scheffler reminisced.

“But, we’re playing at Riviera this year, and I hit my tee ball, and this guy yells out, ‘Congrats on being number one, Scottie. Eleven more years to go.’”

The reference to “11 more years” relates to Scheffler’s ascendance to the top-ranked player in the world. He has held that esteemed position for 83 weeks thus far in his career, which equates to roughly 19 months.

Woods, meanwhile, was ranked number one in the world for 683 weeks, or about 13 years and one month.

So, in reality, Scheffler will need to hold the top-ranked spot for another decade at least. He still has a long way to go, as he pointed out after The Players.

But Scheffler checked another major off at Augusta.

The 2024 Masters marks Scheffler’s ninth win on tour and second major championship, thus diminishing the count against Woods to 73 and 13, respectively.

“I feel like I’m playing really good golf right now. I feel like I’m in control of my emotions as I’ve ever been, which is a good place to be,” Scheffler said after his win at The Masters.

“I think it’s hard to argue with the results of the last few weeks. I’ve been playing some nice golf. But I really try not to focus too much on the past. I’m going to go home this week, reflect on this week, and soak it in as best I can.”

Even though Scheffler still has a long way to go to catch Woods, the comparisons between the two stars certainly carry some weight.

The strokes gained metrics speak for themselves.

During the 2022-23 PGA Tour season, Scheffler averaged 2.614 strokes gained tee-to-green, which ranked second all-time behind Woods’ 2006 season (2.982).

(Worth noting: strokes gained began in 2003, or else Woods’ 2000 season would rank even higher than his 2006 campaign.)

This year, of the 26 rounds Scheffler has played on the PGA Tour, he has averaged 2.80 strokes gained tee-to-green.

Considering how well he played a season ago, he has been better so far this year, which is quite the compliment.

Consider this: in 2023, Scheffler played in 23 events on the PGA Tour. He finished in the top five 13 times, including a tie for second at the PGA Championship and a solo third at the U.S. Open.

If he is not winning, he is right there, as was the case with Woods so many times. Scheffler also never came close to missing the cut a season ago, similar to Woods at the peak of his powers.

The same can be said about this season.

Scheffler’s worst performance so far in 2024 came at The American Express—an absolute birdie barrage played across three courses. That event saw an amateur win for the first time since 1991, while Scheffler finished at 21-under and tied for 17th.

Since then, Scheffler has been nothing short of amazing. He tied for 6th at Pebble Beach, finished three strokes out of a playoff in Phoenix, tied for 10th at Riviera, and then won back-to-back at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and TPC Sawgrass.

Since his win at The Players, Scheffler finished second to Stephen Jaeger at the Houston Open, thanks to a 6-foot birdie putt he missed on the 72nd hole. But he redeemed himself—and then some—by winning The Masters by four shots over Ludvig Åberg.

Sounds pretty Tiger-esque, right?

But the comparisons do not stop there.

Like he did at The Players, Scheffler hit the shots he needed to at Augusta National while ever other contender crumbled.

At the par-4 9th, Scheffler perfectly executed his approach after finding the fairway, using the slope behind the hole to will his ball back towards the pin. Then, at 10, sensing a greater opportunity, Scheffler went right after it, and another birdie followed.

But the most important shot of his round came at the par-3 12th. Woods, along with Jack Nicklaus, have famously said that you should never take on the flag when it sits on the right half of the green on Sunday. Instead, your target should be over the middle bunker. A par on 12, especially with Rae’s Creek running in front of it, is never a bad score.

Like Nicklaus and Woods have always done, Scheffler found the heart of the green on 12, with his ball sailing over the middle bunker and onto the green. A straightforward par followed, as did another birdie at the par-5 13th.

Meanwhile, Collin Morikawa, Scheffler’s playing partner on Sunday, made colossal errors on the 9th and 11th holes. So did Åberg and Homa, the latter of which made a double bogey at 12 thanks to an unplayable lie in the bushes.

Unlike the others at the top of the leaderboard, Scheffler did not make any mistakes. He rarely ever does, and the stats prove it.

So far this season, Scheffler ranks first on the PGA Tour in bogey avoidance, dropping a shot only 8.89% of the time. In 2006, Woods’s bogey avoidance rate was 12.18%.

Instead of making mistakes, Scheffler fires at flagsticks when a green light presents itself—just as Woods did in his prime. Seemingly every round, the former Texas Longhorn sets himself up beautifully for multiple opportunities.

He takes advantage of them, too.

Scheffler has made more birdies than anyone else on the PGA Tour. So far in 2024, Scheffler has made a birdie or better on 31.11% of the holes he has played.

In 2006, Woods’ birdie or better percentage was 27.14%, which ranked first on tour.

Remember when Scheffler was a horrible putter? That trend was short-lived. Even though he currently ranks 96th on the PGA Tour in strokes gained: putting, Scheffler is now gaining 0.014 strokes on the greens.

Switching to the mallet putter before Bay Hill has clearly paid off. He has won three times since.

Another statistical comparison between Woods and Scheffler concerns their clutch genes.

In 2006, Woods had a final-round scoring average of 68.75. He won seven times, including The Open and the PGA Championship back-to-back. What makes this even more impressive is that these two majors came on the heels of his missed cut at the U.S. Open at Winged Foot. That week, Woods was in a sorrowful state. His father and mentor, Earl, passed away a few weeks before.

So far this season, Scheffler’s final-round scoring average is 66.38, highlighted by his exquisite 8-under 64 at TPC Sawgrass and his tremendous 4-under 68 on Sunday at Augusta.

He routinely shows up when it matters most and does so every Sunday. Last month at Bay Hill, the final round scoring average was 73.14—the highest of any of the four rounds.

So, Scheffler, with a bevy of other players in contention, carded one of the best rounds of the year. He shot a 6-under 66 in windy conditions to win by five.

Talk about clutch.

Then, he came from behind to race past Brian Harman and Wyndham Clark at TPC Sawgrass, becoming the first player ever to win consecutive Players Championships.

His clutch genes showed up again this past week in Georgia. He walked off the 8th green, tied for the lead at 7-under, and won by four.

He dominates when it matters most, even in challenging circumstances.

Only eight players finished under par at the 2024 Masters, emphasizing the difficulty of the conditions due to the gale-force winds. Yet, Scheffler was the only player not to record a single round over par.

In fact, he has zero rounds over par so far in 2024—a preposterous statistic.

“No rounds over par is great. I hate shooting over par,” Scheffler said after his win at The Masters.

“I can’t tell you how much I hate shooting over par. It’s nice to not experience that yet this year.”

Scheffler will now head to Hilton Head, South Carolina, for the RBC Heritage—the fifth Signature Event of the 2024 season.

After that, his wife Meredith is expected to give birth to their first child, a moment that Scheffler will treasure forever.

“I will definitely enjoy the birth of my first child,” Scheffler added.

“But with that being said, I still love competing. My priorities will change here very soon. My son or daughter will now be the main priority, along with my wife, so golf will now be probably fourth in line. But I still love competing. I don’t plan on taking my eye off the ball anytime soon, that’s for sure.”

Despite the life changes headed his way, Scheffler believes he will play in the PGA Championship—the season’s next major—at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville next month.

If he continues this pace, Scheffler has a better chance than anyone to win the PGA in May. Of course, the last player to win the season’s first two majors was Jordan Spieth in 2015, when he won The Masters and the U.S. Open.

But if Scheffler goes on to win in Kentucky, something will feel much different than Spieth’s first two major triumphs. Spieth was a young kid then and has not discovered that high level of play since. Scheffler, meanwhile, has dominated for more than two years now, and looks the part of being the game’s next great.

Now the question becomes, is the Grand Slam in play?

Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.