Scottie Scheffler might want to be careful. It won't be long before he starts getting booed. If he does, it will be his own fault. Just like Novak Djokovic, he has brought it on himself they're both too good. We all appreciate the skill and crazy performance levels, but do we really want to see one player dominate the game?
Don't worry, Scheffler isn't going to get booed - this isn't football, or Centre Court. He might get heckled at Bethpage, provoked by European fans desperate to knock the American off his stride, but it won't make one bit of difference. The World No.1 is unflappable. Some might call the way he goes about his business boring, but is it really that different to the other guy who won for fun, Tiger Woods?
Let's have the Woods discussion straight away - the comparison. Woods is the only player in the men's game to have held a vice-like grip on the World No.1 spot. Following Woods' peak, Messrs Mcllroy, Spieth, Johnson, Koepka and Rahm all threatened to pull away from the chasing pack, only to suffer a dip or be reeled back in. Staying there is clearly not easy.
A view widely shared at the time was that the game would never again witness a player rule the roost for so long like Woods. At the time of writing, Scheffler is into his 65th consecutive week looking down on the rest, and he won't be budging any time soon.
How did this happen? Last autumn, he'd been left in tears after suffering a record 9&7 foursomes defeat at the Ryder Cup. His putting was fragile and so too, it seemed, was his mind. Tee to green there was no one better, but his putting, at times, looked decidedly average. There was even talk that he had the yips.
After suffering that humiliation in Rome, Scheffler won six PGA Tour titles in 15 events. In a sport where players 'lose' most weeks, his win ratio is quite remarkable.
Denne historien er fra September 2024-utgaven av Golf Monthly.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra September 2024-utgaven av Golf Monthly.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
My golfing year
Rob Smith looks back on his packed 2024 diary and reflects on the many and varied adventures of a dedicated golf course writer
Clubs with two 18-hole courses
Each of these venues is home to two fine and occasionally very different layouts
Blackmoor
The A3/M3 corridor heading south-west out of London is graced with many cracking heather-lined courses that rank among the best in the country.
How should I adjust for compacted sand?
At this time of year, we face a lot of bunker shots from compacted sand and need to make the necessary adjustments to change how the club enters the sand.
Johannes Veerman
The winner of December's Nedbank Golf Challenge shares his thoughts on some of the best ways to lower your scores
PUTTING MATS
While you may think all putting mats are created equal, there are many factors a golfer should consider before taking the plunge, from price and size, to speed and the number of different features a product offers.
OZARKS NATIONAL
This outrageously attractive course, which opened in 2019, is one of five brilliant and very different designs at the expansive Big Cedar Lodge resort in Missouri.
FOR THE LONG RUN"
Ludvig Aberg has made quite a start to his professional career, with his eyes now set on climbing higher still in 2025 following a slight pause for surgery last September
PLAYERS TO WATCH IN 2025
There is perhaps greater strength in depth in both men’s and women’s elite golf today than at any point in time.
A GRAND ESTATE
Goodwood in West Sussex may be steeped in ancestral history, but about 20 years ago it elected to take its golf offering down a very different route...
