[PHOTO: Kevin C. Cox]
He started the day one shot behind, although had the tournament on ice over the final holes. In reality, the issue was never in doubt as soon as his name appeared in the field. What happened at the Hero World Challenge was what happened throughout 2024: like continental drift or the day turning to night, Scottie Scheffler is inevitable.
Scheffler successfully defended his title at Tiger Woods’ charity event in the Bahamas, a nine-under 63 on the final day bestowing a six-shot win, giving the world No.1 his ninth victory of the season.
It was only an exhibition, against a field of 20, with many of the top names on tour choosing to rest after another turbulent year in professional golf over a trip to the Caribbean. Don’t let the optics cloud Scheffler’s performance, for this week gave a glimpse into what makes this cat purr.
One would think, coming off the year that he had, Scheffler’s quiet autumn would have been focused on recovery and maintaining his status quo. Instead, Scheffler showed up to the Albany course with a new putting grip on shorter putts, something between a “saw” and “claw” depending on your preferred nomenclature. That may seem ill-advised on the heels of his tour de force ’24, especially since Scheffler is a relatively solid putter from mid-to-short range. Yet Scheffler was also not obtuse to what was happening inside 10 feet (139th on the PGA Tour), so he waited until his offseason to address his stroke, switching his grip depending on distance.
“I would say I’m always looking for ways to improve and I felt like this was something that we had looked at last year when [putting coach Phil Kenyon] and I first started working together, but it was really our first time working together and it’s something that’s different than what I’ve done in the past,” Scheffler said last Thursday. “You know, this year I had thought about it from time to time and it was something that we had just said let’s table that for the end of the season, take a look at it. Took a look at it this offseason and figured this is a good week to try stuff just because you can practise and practise and do all the stuff at home, but there’s just something different about being in competition.”
The move worked: Scheffler ranked third in putting this week, gaining more than 3.8 strokes on the greens against the field. But then there was the event itself. This week is more of a celebration than competition for most players. To gain entry into the Hero means you’ve had a solid campaign, with a guaranteed six-figure payday, a generous world-ranking boost and – most importantly – a laidback, de facto vacation for yourself, family and friends. Scheffler used the Hero as a lab to experiment the new grip in a game-like situation, and asserted earlier in the week that it’s not the money or points or fame that spurs him on, but the challenge the sport presents. Be it during an exhibition, practice in Texas, or against the world’s best, Scheffler is only interested in the battle.
“As far as I’m concerned, I don’t play golf for money,” Scheffler said. “I’ve been playing golf my whole life for free and the money’s just a bonus. If somebody wants to pay us to come out here and play golf, that’s great, I’m not going to say no to it. I’m going to do the best I can in my community to steward that money well.
“If we’re getting paid to play – should we be getting paid the money we get paid to play in these tournaments now? We get paid pretty dang well to play in golf tournaments. I want to win just as bad for zero dollars as I do for whatever millions of dollars it is. The money’s not my motivation, it’s not something I think about, it’s just a bonus that happens when you’re out here playing tournaments. It’s a very nice thing to have.”
For those scoring at home, he did pocket a million for the Hero, pushing him past $US30 million in prizemoney this year. Counting bonus pools – including $US25 million for winning the FedEx Cup – his total haul was $US62.5 million. Yet monetary figures is no way to encapsulate Scheffler’s season.
He won nine times, a feat only Tiger Woods and Vijay Singh have accomplished in the modern era. His year was highlighted by his second Masters win and becoming the first to successfully defend the Players Championship. His five other victories came at signature events: Arnold Palmer Invitational, RBC Heritage, Memorial, Travelers Championship and Tour Championship, the last which wrapped up his first FedEx Cup. Scheffler also triumphed at the Olympics, winning the gold medal at Le Golf National outside Paris. He was first on tour in scoring and strokes gained, and posted 16 top-10 finishes in 19 starts. After capturing the PGA Tour’s Player of the Year title the two previous campaigns he is a lock for this third straight in the coming weeks.
Incredibly, the year began with the belief that Scheffler is boring. In an era of content creation he is not a self-promoter. His greatest sin is that his game is so absolute and in control that the performance, coupled with an unrelenting niceness, can come off as mundane. He is not a roguish cowboy, someone who makes a mess by firing first and asking questions later, saving the day in spite of himself. He is a Navy Seal, in and out and mission complete before anyone is the wiser.
The “boring” label attached to Scheffler has undergone a subtle shift after the surreal incident at the PGA Championship, where he was arrested in the Valhalla carpark before his second round. Yet despite his remarkable achievements, Scheffler remains underappreciated. This oversight is particularly ironic given that for the past decade, golf has yearned for another dominant force reminiscent of Tiger Woods. Now such a player stands before us, but amid the distracting backdrop of professional golf’s civil war, the sport has failed to properly acknowledge Scheffler’s extraordinary accomplishments. True recognition may finally arrive if Scheffler maintains his historic pace – or perhaps, paradoxically, the golf world needs his streak to end before it can fully value what he has done.
For Scheffler’s part, he has no appetite for conjecture. He’s simply trying to do his best, focus on the process, and do better the next time. It’s not as exciting, but that’s the point. Inevitability never is.
