Dear Scottie Scheffler: I’m sorry I doubted you

“Scottie Scheffler is not a killer.”

Those are words that will haunt me for a while.

And for them – and quite a few others my colleagues have kindly put together in a video compilation – I must say … Scheffler, I’m sorry.

I actually misspoke the first time I went on camera with this hot take and said “winner” rather than killer – (a gaffe many have reminded me of). But even when you insert the correct intention, I was still clearly … clearly ... wrong.

I remember how gung-ho I felt. I’d had the chat with a few friends – tested it out around the water cooler so to speak. And I was excited to spew it into the wider public sphere. Sure, Scheffler might be able to grind out wins from out in front better than most, but I felt he was less formidable taking on players in a head-to-head type of scenario where they asserted pressure in his presence.

I launched the above barb ahead of the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard. The rest, as they say, is history.

As Scheffler revels in a seven-win season, plus an Olympic gold medal and last week’s dominant title defense of the unofficial Hero World Challenge, and most recently the crowning of another PGA TOUR Player of the Year endorsement … I must sit back and admit he has proven to be the next level up from anything that we’ve seen in quite a while.

It wasn’t that I didn’t believe Scheffler was the best player in the world. He was, and is. There are some insane ball-striking stats attached to his resume. Instead, it was more about those moments when others rose to his level and forced him to start thinking about the competition, not just his own golf.

In other words. I felt he could be rattled off his game. His putter could be exploited. He couldn’t deal mentally when others pushed aside his stifling accuracy and made putts to counter his incredible proximity.

In 2023 we saw this arguably play out. He was clearly the best and most consistent player on TOUR, but his putting stopped him from having a similar seven-win season. He closed just twice despite having a run of seven straight top fives that weren’t victories.

This is where my “take” was born. And then it solidified in my mind when Scheffler led down the stretch of the WM Phoenix Open this past February, only to cough up the chance of victory. It’s why I laughed at those claiming he was the best since Tiger Woods.

In my time covering professional golf, following Woods’ era of dominance, we’ve seen quite a few players given the mantle of best since Tiger. Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth, Jason Day, Justin Thomas … these are just some of those touted to be the next guy.

When Scheffler won for the sixth time in 2024, he was the first to do that since Woods in 2009. Since 2000, a player has won five or more TOUR events in a season 14 times. Nine of those were Woods: 2000 (nine wins), 2001 (five), 2002 (five), 2003 (five), 2005 (six), 2006 (eight), 2007 (seven), 2009 (six) and 2013 (five).

Outside of the dominant 15-time major winner, Scheffler joined Vijay Singh (2004, nine wins), Spieth (2015, five wins), Day (2015, five wins) and Thomas (2017, five wins) as the only others to get five in a season. McIlroy has never crossed that threshold.

And so now, as we head to 2025, Scheffler actually does have the ability to do something to quantify he is the best since Tiger. He can keep winning.

Singh backed up 2004 with a four-win season in 2005. In 2016 Day managed three wins, Spieth just two. In 2018, Thomas backed up with three wins. These guys were definitely in their purple patch, and perhaps their peak period.

Now the question is when, or perhaps if, peak Scheffler will slow down.

DraftKings Sportsbook has set Scheffler’s over/under wins on TOUR in 2025 at 4.5. If he hits the over, he’s then quantifiably the best since Woods who put multiple stretches of five-plus win seasons together. Not as good as Woods, but certainly the best since.

At the top of his game, Woods would start full TOUR events and majors as the +150 favorite – +150! As it stands, Scheffler is +400 for the Masters next April. I can honestly see that number dropping further if he wins early next season. Should he triumph at Augusta National, he’d be the first to get three wins in a four-year period since Jack Nicklaus.

Honestly, this time around? I’m not prepared to bet against him.