He is both the unstoppable force and the immovable object it seems.
His poise and control unlike anything we’ve seen in a long time.
It’s a tired song these announcers sing as they shower him with praise shot after shot. Sometimes he’ll even receive more praise than his counterpart who’s hit a better approach shot. Why?
It’s not because they see Scottie’s singular shot as a better one. It’s because when you’re able to view each of his shots in the context of his whole body of work, you can’t help but be mesmerized.
Surely he won’t put it exactly where he wants it yet again. Surely sooner or later, he’ll make a mistake that will really cost him. Surely he’ll have to settle for bogey on this one. Each time he doesn’t, your awe only grows.
It’s why when Scottie sat at -3 after day one (just one stroke off the lead), you felt like you could’ve already written the rest of the story.
After a -7 performance on Friday, the writing was plastered all over the walls.
Scottie waltzes through Saturday and Sunday en route to a relatively drama-free British Open championship. I like the call it The Open, but grammar didn’t seem to allow it this once.
-17 was the number, four strokes ahead of the closest competitor in Harris English (who has had a wonderful season, by the way).
Scottie’s dominant play continues.
What is Scottie capable of?
We’re talking about Scottie Scheffler, a man who has unashamedly shared of his faith in the living God, so if you would, allow me to consider this for a moment.
This is a man who has faith in God. If you adhere to the Christian faith, you know that this is a faith by which a mere man may be more capable of achieving improbable things.
It may very well be that the spirit of God within him that allows for supernatural peace, supernatural poise, and plainly, the supernatural ability to play the game of golf, that he may use his successes to glorify the Creator.
The Lord bestows upon his created unique gifts that we are to steward, so it feels fair to say that Scottie has been gifted this ability to steward well.
If you do not adhere to the Christian faith, you might simply say that Scottie is capable of endless success because he’s worked harder and has the most complete game on tour.
But let’s talk numbers
All that said, there are only so many tournaments to be played and so many years left of Scottie’s prime to achieve such unthinkable things, so let’s just take a few stabs.
I think we should take this in the direction of PGA Tour wins and major championship wins alike. I’d also like to compare him to some greats along the way to determine where I think he could land if he continues (in some form or fashion) his dominant play.
Scheffler, the winner of 17 PGA events and 4 majors, is playing his best golf at 29 year old. Tiger’s prime started a little earlier and lasted til around his mid-30s.
Let’s just say Scottie has 10 years to achieve everything he’ll achieve. Tiger won the Master’s at age 43, so it’s not out of the question for Scottie to have a longer reign, but not many gentlemen continue to crush it in their 40s. We’ll give him til 39.
I believe it is fair to suggest that Scottie could and should win five tournaments each year, adding at least one major every year for the first five years, every other year for the second five years.
I say this because he’s the best golfer in the game and we’re talking about what is possible, not what is expected.
This would land him at ~67 PGA Tour wins along with 12 major championships. This would put him among the likes of Sam Snead and Ben Hogan, just shy of the greatness of Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus.
Another number? Scottie earned $3,100,000 for this one. See The Open payouts here.
Do we need to calm down?
We’ve seen runs like this from guys like Jordan Spieth, Rory McIlroy, even Brooks Koepka who’s rattled off five major championships (one more than Scottie).
So I understand it takes more than a short burst of brilliance to be mentioned with the the greats.
There is just something about Scottie that seems quite difficult to stop. It took a broken wine glass and a hand surgery to give the other guys a chance early in the year, and since his return, he’s found the top ten in 13/16 events, top 25 in all of them, and he’s WON four out of his last eight events. 50/50 shot between Scottie and the field every weekend it seems.
I’m a young guy, having experienced the back end of Tiger’s reign.
I’m grateful to be on the forefront of Scottie’s, and I hope it lasts a long, long time.
He’s a man I root for every single weekend for two reasons.
I believe in what he stands for
It’s a joy to witness greatness
Scottie has the opportunity to complete his Grand Slam at Shinnecock Hills at the 2026 U.S. Open.
Alas
Given its rich history and tradition, The Open is fitting to be the final major championship, though it’s sad to have to wait so long til next year’s first.
We look forward to the remaining tournaments and the culmination of the season at the FedEx Cup events here in just a couple weeks.
Cheers,
Luke ManganOn Golf