How Scottie Scheffler could become world No. 1 this week

Scottie Scheffler didn’t play in last year’s Sentry Tournament of Champions because, well, he had yet to win on the PGA TOUR.

He arrived at this year’s edition of the Sentry as the reigning PGA TOUR Player of the Year, however, after a four-win season that included a triumph at the Masters. He could leave Kapalua on Sunday as the top-ranked player in the world, as well.

Scheffler, who’s currently ranked second, would return to No. 1 by finishing in a two-way tie for third or higher this week. Rory McIlroy, the current No. 1 and reigning FedExCup champ, is idle.

Scheffler reached No. 1 in the world with his win in last March’s World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play, two weeks before he became a major champion at Augusta National.

The Match Play was just Scheffler’s 92nd start as a pro, making him the third-fastest to reach No. 1. Tiger Woods needed just 21 starts as a pro to claim the top spot, while Jordan Spieth did it in 77 pro starts. Scheffler’s rapid rise began in 2019, when he won the Korn Ferry Tour’s Player of the Year award in his first full year as a professional. He was named PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year a year later and the Player of the Year in 2022.

Scheffler was No. 1 in the world for 30 weeks, until Rory McIlroy supplanted him with a win at THE CJ CUP in South Carolina in October.

McIlroy has held the No. 1 ranking ever since, becoming the first player to end a year holding the FedExCup, DP World Tour’s season-long points title and the top spot in the Official World Golf Ranking.