Category: Players

PGA Tour 2025: Scheffler’s Charge Heats Up

Scottie Scheffler: In Pursuit of History

After Scottie Scheffler’s historic 2024 campaign coming on the heels of a 2023 season where he posted 17 Top-10’s in 23 starts, including 2 wins, a runner-up at The PGA and 2 more major Top-10’s, the inevitable Jack and Tiger comparisons began to sprout.

The notion that Scheffler could mount a serious challenge to the career numbers accumulated by the two greatest players in history, however, still seemed nothing more than fantasy.

With his powerful start to the 2025 season, including a Top-5 at The Masters in April, a PGA Championship victory in May, and his win at The Memorial two weeks ago, the odds that Scheffler will etch his name among the 5 greatest players of All-Time when his career comes to a close have increased dramatically—and matching or even surpassing Tiger and Jack have become a real possibility.

The Beginning

Scottie came out on the PGA Tour in the Fall of 2019 at 23 years old after a year on the Korn Ferry Tour, where he recorded 10 Top-10’s in 20 starts with 2 wins. He was fast out of the gate, recording 4 Top-10s and 2 Top-20’s in his first 9 events without missing a cut, and it looked like he was getting ready to roll with a 3rd place finish at the American Express Championship in late January of 2020—and then the pandemic hit and blew everything up.

As COVID began to sweep across the country, Scottie missed the cut in 2 of the next 5 events he played without recording a Top-10—until the Tour closed completely with cancellation of The Players Championship.

When the season resumed amid a shut-down world devoid of live fans, Scottie missed the cut in 3 of the first 4 events, and just as he started to get going again with Top-5 finishes at the PGA and Tour Championships, he was forced to withdraw from the rescheduled U.S. Open in September after a positive COVID test.

Tiger was 21 when he started his pursuit of Jack with a two-year head start on Scottie. He had already won 2 major championships along with 13 Tour wins by the time he was 23, so Scheffler had a lot of ground to make up if he hoped to catch him–even before the Pandemic put him that much deeper in the hole.

Scottie Starts To Roll

Scheffler began to find his footing again in 2021 with Top-10’s in 3 of the 4 Majors, and then started rolling in ’22 with his first career win at the WM Phoenix Open in February, followed by a T10 at the Genesis, wins at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and Dell Match Play Championship in March, and his first major championship victory at The Masters in April.

In 2023 Scottie throttled up further with 17 Top-10 finishes in 23 starts, including a T2 at The PGA Championship, 3rd at The U.S. Open, a T-10 at The Masters—and 2 more wins including back-to-back in Phoenix and a dominating victory at The Players Championship.

Back To Back Wins at the Players

While it would seem almost impossible to surpass 2023, the season Scheffler put together in 2024 stands among the greatest in history, with 16 Top-10’s in 19 starts without missing a cut and 7 wins including a second Masters championship, back-to-back wins at The Players, a T8 at the PGA and a T7 at The Open Championship.

The Chase Begins

Thus far in 2025 Scottie has recorded 9 Top-10’s in 12 starts without missing a cut, including a 4th at The Masters and his third major championship at the PGA.

While it may seem that Scottie is a long way behind Jack’s 18 major titles and Tiger’s 15, keep in mind that Scheffler is only 28 years old and only now entering his prime.

Including this week’s U.S. Open, Scottie will have 46 more major championships by the time he reaches 40 years old, and if he maintains his current pace will add 7 more majors for a total of 10—putting him solidly among the top 5 greatest of all time.

Keep in mind though that the projection of 10 major wins through 40 does not take into account that Scottie has elevated his performance each year, and if his current trajectory continues, 10 may well be a pretty conservative number (and both Jack and Tiger added an additional major after 40 years old as well).  

Should Scottie win this weekend at Oakmont, his winning percentage at the majors will move up from 14.3% to 18.2%–pretty darn close to Jack and Tiger. 

The U.S. Open is always one of the best weeks of the year for golf, and watching Scheffler set his sights on history is guaranteed to make for compelling theater.

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All-Time Top 100: Active Player Update

Tiger: 15 Major Championships

There are twenty-six active players among the all-time Top 100 golfers, with Tiger leading the list as he continues his pursuit of Jack Nicklaus for #1.

Tiger will be 49 years old when the 2025 season gets under way, and it appears that injuries suffered in the 2021 auto accident combined with ongoing back issues will ultimately keep him from overtaking Nicklaus.

Don’t try telling that to Tiger though–he just underwent another surgery to alleviate persistent back spasms that slowed him in 2024 with every intention of playing more tour events in ’25 and getting competitive again in the majors.

Clock’s winding down for Tiger

Tiger holds a pretty good lead over Jack in tour wins, and he is very close to Nicklaus in cut and top 10 percentage, but Jack’s 3 additional major wins along with his tremendous number of major top 10’s make it seemingly impossible for Tiger to run him down at this point.  

Even should Tiger coax another major championship from his battered body, he would still come up just a bit shy—unless he could also add another tour win and a major top 10 or two.

It’s a long shot, but then again betting against Tiger Woods has never been a wise thing to do.

Scottie Scheffler: Date With History

Scottie

With 7 wins including a Masters Championship, no missed cuts and 16 top-10’s in 19 starts, Scheffler’s 2024 season was among the greatest of all-time.

And Scottie’s ’23 season was pretty fantastic as well, with 2 wins and 17 top-10’s (including 3 major top-10’s).

Scheffler ended the 2022 season at #112 among the greatest players of all-time, jumping to #97 in 2023 and he now stands at #60—while Scottie won’t turn 30 years old until 2026. If he continues at this pace, Jack and Tiger will start to see him in the rearview coming on fast in the not-too distant future.

Xander Jumps With Pair of Major Wins

Xander

Xander Schauffele is no slouch either, with 2 major championship victories in 2024 and 26 top-10’s in the last 2 seasons (including 4 major top 10’s in addition to the wins).

Schauffele ended the ’22 season at #94, moved to #85 in 2023 and jumped all the way to #68 with his 2 majors and a boat load of additional T-10’s.

At 30 years old, Xander has plenty of time to build his record—and all-time top 10 is by no means out of reach.

Rory Still Has Time

Rory

Everyone talks about the fact that McIlroy has not won a major in almost ten years, but he is still just 35 years old, looks as fit as he did when he was twenty (perhaps even more so), and still drives it better than anybody.

After the 2022 season Rory stood at #21 and moved past Cary Middlecoff and Lee Trevino to #19 in 2023. While 2024 was a disappointment, particularly the painful loss at the U.S. Open, Rory still made 18 of 19 cuts and recorded 7 top-10’s, including a pair of Tour wins—propelling him past Lloyd Mangrum into a tie with Peter Thompson at #17.

Jack won his last major at 46 and Phil captured The PGA Championship at 51, so Rory still has plenty of opportunities in front of him. While it’s unlikely that Rory can get close to Sam Snead, Tiger and Jack, he definitely has a shot at the top 5—and there are a ton of golf fans pulling for him.

LIV

Participating in LIV events does not elevate standing among the greats of the game, so DJ (#29), Sergio (#32), Jon Rahm (#49), Brooks Koepka (#57) and Bryson DeChambeau (#91) are relying on major championship performance alone to move up in the rankings.

Jon Rahm: Inside the Top 50

While the clock is winding down on DJ and Sergio, now north of 40, Koepka, Rahm and DeChambeau have plenty of time–but they need to play lights out whenever they tee it up in a major.

Jon Rahm is currently the only player in the all-time top 50 who is under 30 years old, and his PGA Tour cut and top-10 percentages are the highest of any modern-day player other than Jack and Tiger.

Brooks Koepka: 5 major championships

Koepka always focused on the majors anyway, even when he played on the PGA Tour, but it’s tough to be at the top of your game when it counts without regular big-time competition. Still, it’s a pretty good bet that Brooks will bag at least one more major and move into the all-time top-50.

Hopefully there will be a resolution between LIV and the PGA Tour in the near future, because it would sure be great to see Koepka, Rahm and DeChambeau tee it up against Scheffler, Schauffele and McIlroy more than just 4 times a year.

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LIV Golf: 2024 Power Rankings through Greenbrier

Jon Rahm: Moves to #1 (Photo by Isaiah Vazquez)

Jon Rahm has been chasing Joaquin Niemann in the LIV Power Rankings all year, and with his first LIV win at the UK and a runner-up at The Greenbrier, he finally ran him down.

Niemann certainly didn’t give it up without a fight though, finishing one shot behind Rahm at the UK as runner up. Jon came out swinging with a first round 63 and a 6-shot lead over Niemann, but Joaquin fired 67 and 65 on the weekend only to come up just shy.

Niemann certainly didn’t play poorly at The Greenbrier either, finishing at 11 under par and a T15 (along with Bryson DeChambeau), but Rahm has been relentless in 2024 and his runner-up to Koepka on Old White pretty much sealed the deal.  

Niemann will need to win Chicago with Rahm finishing outside the top 10 to retake the lead, and the way Rahm has played that doesn’t seem likely.   As the year winds down, there are twelve LIV players included among the All-Time Top 100 Players, with Phil at the top and Bryson the most recent addition on the strength of his fantastic major championship season.

Joaquin Niemann: Falls to #2

LIV Power Ranking Update

Players are rated and ranked on the basis of events played, average finish, wins, runner-up, Top-5 and Top-10 finishes—as well as performance at the major championships.

Top 5

No. 1 Jon Rahm: 100.8 Rating 

Jon started to heat up with his final round at The Open and a Top 10 finish, and then kept rolling when he held off Niemann for his first LIV win at the UK. Although the last nine holes at the Olympic Tournament in France were excruciating after the first 63 holes of flawless golf, Rahm came back with another powerful performance at The Greenbrier where he recorded a runner-up, losing in a playoff to Brooks Koepka.

In 11 LIV events, Rahm has recorded a win, a runner-up, 5 Top-5’s and 4 Top-10’s—and his average finish is 5.2.

What separated Jack and Tiger was brilliant consistency and professionalism—and Jon Rahm epitomizes exactly that.

Think Jon will be among the leaders on Sunday at Bolingbrook? You can take it to the bank.

No. 2 Joaquin Niemann: 93.6 Rating

Joaquin has had an amazing year with 2 wins, 6 Top-10’s and a runner-up at the UK, going toe-to-toe with Rahm throughout the year.

Keep in mind that Niemann is only 25 years old, although you may think he’s far older (Joaquin turned pro at 19 and won his first Tour event at 20).

He charged hard but finished a shot back at the UK, and finally relinquished his lead in the LIV Power Rankings when Rahm recorded yet another Top-10 at The Greenbrier—but unfortunately for Niemann it was like trying to hold back a tidal wave.

And while he has yet to make his presence felt at the major championships, Niemann has had extraordinary success at every level since first picking up a club as a toddler—so his time will come without doubt.

Bryson: Bombing it at Bolingbrook

No. 3 Bryson DeChambeau: 86.7 Rating

Bryson got off to a slow start at both the UK and Greenbrier, finishing strong but just outside the top 10 in both events.

With his U.S. Open win, runner up at the PGA and T6 at The Masters, Bryson had an incredible year at the majors—and 2 Top-5’s (Jeddah and Nashville) along with 4 Top-10’s in 12 LIV events is one heck of a regular season.

Bryson is back, and he’ll be hitting eye-popping bombs at Bolingbrook—so Rahm and Niemann will need to bring their A games to keep him at bay.

No. 4 Tyrell Hatton: 83.3 Rating

Hatton played great at the UK, recording a T2, but followed up with a less than stellar performance (25th) at The Greenbrier—which pretty much sums up Tyrell’s 2024 campaign.

Tyrell’s season included brilliant performances (a win, runner-up, 3 Top-5’s and a Top-10), along with forgettable finishes (Hong Kong—21 and Houston—18) and mediocrity (T15 in Jedda and T14 at Adelaide).

Which Tyrell Hatten will show up in Chicago? We’ll have to wait and see.

Cam Smith: 3 Times a Runner-up

No. 5 Cameron Smith: 76.9

Smith is having about as good a season as you can have without recording a win. Including a T2 in the UK, Cameron has recorded 3 runner-up finishes in 2024.  When you add 4 Top-10’s and a T6 at The Masters, Smith has had a very successful season.

Like Brooks Koepka however, Cameron puts the bulk of his stock in performance at the majors, and after the good start at Augusta he was outside the top 20 at the PGA and U.S. Open, and then missed the cut at The Open Championship.

Still, Cam is coming off back-to-back Top-10’s at The UK and The Greenbrier, so a win in Chicago would be a great way to wind up the year and make a statement for 2025.

Notables

Brooks Koepka (No. 6/75.7 Rating)

Brooks applied the brakes to the Jon Rahm freight train with a playoff win at Greenbrier for his second victory of the 2024 season and 5th career LIV championship.

It’s been a strange year for Koepka though, making the cut in all four majors while finishing outside the top 20 in every one of them. And although he has a pair of LIV wins along with a T5 and 2 Top-10’s, Brooks was downright lousy in a couple of events (Miami—45 and Nashville—42) and lackluster in others (Hong Kong—28 and Andalucia—27).

Koepka is an enigma for sure, with all that power and ability. Seems like if the putts are falling early, it’s lights out for the field—but if not, the fire begins to fade.

Let’s hope Brooks has it going in Chicago, it would be great to see another bare-knuckle brawl with Rahm.

Louis Oosthuizen: Sweet Swing

Louis Oosthuizen (No. 8/67.2 Rating)

Is there a golf swing in golf more enjoyable to watch? Or a nicer guy on the planet? Once again Louis Oosthuizen is quietly having a solid year with a runner-up (Adelaide), T4 (Andalucia), and 4 additional Top-10’s.

Louis is also the picture of consistency, in spite of a balky back, ranking fourth in average finish at 12.8.

If you can tear yourself away from watching Bryson bomb it, check out the simple elegance of a Louis Oosthuizen long iron—brings a smile every time.

Give Us One More Thrill Phil!

Phil (No. 44/32.8 Rating) 

Still no Phil. After tying Gary Player for second behind Jack with 102 major cuts when he made it to the weekend at Royal Troon, it almost seems that Phil has packed it in for the season.

Following a mediocre performance at the UK (T34), Mickelson appeared ready to make some noise at The Greenbrier with two solid rounds, but then blew up on Sunday to finish 50th.

Mickelson also passed a comment that at 54, perhaps it was nearing the time he should “step aside,” but it’s looked like Phil was done before and then he suddenly popped back up.

Come on Phil, give us one more thrill in Chicagoland.

Bolingbrook Golf Club, Illinois

2024 Upcoming LIV Schedule

Chicago: Bolingbrook Golf Club (September 13-15)

Team Championship Dallas: Maridoe Golf Club (September 20-22)

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LIV Golf: 2024 Power Rankings through Andalucia and The Open    

Jon Rahm: Open Top 10

Jon Rahm keeps packing on the Top 10’s and Bryson DeChambeau lit up the first three majors of the year–yet Joaquin Niemann continues to hold the lead in the LIV Power Rankings.

Of the 18 LIV players to tee it up for The Open Championship at Royal Troon, 11 made the cut where brutal wind and gnarly rough saw 10 of the Top 20 players in the World Rankings head home for the weekend.

The weather continued to play havoc with scoring as rain came in on Saturday afternoon, adding another element to the difficult conditions at Troon, and then on Sunday the wind abruptly turned 180 degrees presenting the players with an entirely new look—and requiring a big shift in strategy and approach amidst the pressure of the final round at a major championship.

As the leaders came back to the field, Jon Rahm battled the elements and stayed within striking distance at 2 over through the first three rounds. On Sunday Jon came out guns blazing with 3 birdies on the first 3 holes and 32 on the front-nine to pull within 2 shots of the lead before a wayward tee shot on the 11th hole led to a bogie that derailed his run.

Although Rahm didn’t pick up his third major, his T7 adds another Major Top 10 to an already phenomenal record, and he will join Phil, DJ, Sergio and Lee Westwood among the first 50 in  All-Time Top 100 Players.

Joaquin Niemann: Holding on at #1

LIV Power Ranking Update

Players are rated and ranked on the basis of events played, average finish, wins, runner up, Top-5 and Top-10 finishes–as well as performance at the major championships.

Top 5

No. 1 Joaquin Niemann: 87.4 Rating

Along with his two wins at Mayakoba and Jeddah, Niemann has also recorded 6-Top 10’s including his T6 at Andalucia last week, and improved his average finish of 9.6, second only to Jon Rahm.

Although his performance at the major’s has not met expectations thus far in his early career, it is only a matter of time before Joaquin breaks out in a big way—and there is nothing not to like about this young man (exemplified by the 4 birdies he made on the back nine Friday at Troon following a nightmare 8 at the Postage Stamp Par 3).

No. 2 Jon Rahm: 86.0 Rating 

Still no LIV wins (incredibly), but five Top-5’s and four Top-10’s in nine LIV events this year is pretty tough to beat. And with all those great finishes, it’s not a surprise that Rahm also holds a substantial lead in average finish at 6.0.

Although Jon came up short at The Open, there was a glimpse of the fire that the world is used to seeing from Rahm when he is in the hunt on Sunday—look for him to break through with his first LIV win this weekend at The UK.

No. 3 Bryson DeChambeau: 84.6 Rating

In addition to his U.S. Open win, runner up at the PGA and T6 at The Masters, Bryson has recorded 2-Top 5’s (Jeddah and Nashville) along with 4 Top-10’s (including a T9 at Andalucia last week).

While Bryson missed the cut at The Open this week, his 2024 season has been nothing less than spectacular—and you can look forward to watching him bomb his way to the top of the leaderboard at major championships for many years to come. 

Tyrell Hatton: Winner in Nashville

No. 4 Tyrell Hatton: 77.9 Rating

Hatton recorded a T3 at Andalucia on the heels of his first LIV win in Nashville at The Grove, where he dominated for a six-shot margin of victory.

For the season, Tyrell has recorded 3 Top-5’s and a Top-10 to go along with his win, while sporting the third best average finish at 10.1—just behind Niemann.

Sergio Garcia: Winner at Andalucia

No. 5 Sergio Garcia: 67.9 With his home-court win at Andalucia last week, Sergio jumped into the Top 5 on the Power rankings. In addition to his win, Garcia has also recorded a pair of runner-up finishes (Mayakoba and Trump Doral in Miami), as well as a T5 at Houston.

Dean Burmester: Top 20 at The Open  

No. 5 Dean Burmester: 67.0 Rating

Dean got off to a fast start in the ’24 season with a T3 at Mayakoba, a T8 in Hong Kong, a win in Miami at Trump National Doral and another T3 at Adelade—but cooled off with no Top 10’s in his last four LIV events.

It seemed that the Burmester magic was back as he stayed among the leaders through Thursday and Friday at The Open, but as the rain and wind grew stronger on Saturday afternoon Dean’s hopes were washed away with a 41 on the back, and a 3rd round 76.

Burmester re-set and shot an even par 71 on Sunday for a solid Top 20 Open finish, so it seems that he’s ready to resume his early season success.

Notables

Brooks Koepka (No. 6/63.9 Rating)

For a lot of players making the cut at all four majors wouldn’t be all that bad, but for Koepka it’s a dismal year.

Brooks has recorded a win, a Top 5 and 2-Top 10’s thus far in 2024 however, so he’s still in position to make a move with big finishes at the U.K., Greenbrier and Bolingbrook Golf Club in Chicago. But will he be motivated?

Phil Mickelson: 102 Major Cuts

Phil (No. 41/33.0 Rating 

Phil continues his slumber in the LIV events, but he was teeing it up on Saturday at Royal Troon while ten of the top twenty players in the world were lounging on the couch.

And although it wasn’t the same Phil who fought Henrik Stenson tooth and nail at Troon in 2016, firing that brilliant final found 65, he’s still got some game at 54 years old (finished in a tie with 2023 Open Champion Brian Harmon and ahead of Hideki Matsuyama, another World Top 20 player).

The 2024 Open Championship was also the 102nd time that Mickelson has made the cut at a major championship, tying Gary Player for second behind Jack.

JCB Golf & Country Club, UK

2024 Upcoming LIV Schedule

United Kingdom: JCB Golf and Country Club (July26-28)

Greenbrier: Old White-Greenbrier (August 16-18)

Chicago: Bolingbrook Golf Club (September 13-15)

Team Championship Dallas: Maridoe Golf Club (September 20-22)

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LIV Golf: 2024 Power Rankings and PGA Preview

There will be sixteen LIV players teeing it up at Valhalla for the PGA Championship next week, led by the reigning champion—Brooks Koepka.

If Koepka can go back-to-back at the PGA, it will be his sixth major championship, matching Lee Trevino, Nick Faldo and Phil. His chances looked a bit dim only a few weeks ago after the no-show at Augusta and mediocre start to the ’24 LIV season, but then Brooks notched a T9 down under at Adelaide and a 2-shot win over Cam Smith in Singapore.

Koepka is plenty long, and he can hit an iron with anybody, but what separates him from the field at major championships is the putter from 10 feet and in, where steel nerve under stifling pressure is a requirement. Brooks wasn’t making many putts at Augusta, but the short stick started heating up in Singapore—so it’s a pretty good bet he won’t relinquish his title without a fight next week.

Getting off the canvas

Rahm v Scheffler II

A 74 in the first round at Augusta led to an early K/O for Rahm when Scheffler came out smoking with a 66, sending him to the canvas—and he never got up.   

Don’t look for that to happen again. In the seven LIV events Rahm has played this year, he’s recorded four Top 5’s and 3 Top 10’s. Before moving to LIV, Jon notched 9 PGA Tour wins along with his 2 major championships (’21 U.S. Open and ’23 Masters).

Rahm’s cut percentage (90.2) and Top 10 percentage (50.2) is second only to Tiger (90.4/54.3) among active players, and his next major Top 10 will move him into the Top 50 players of all-time—and he’s still only 28 years old.

In addition to his two wins, Rahm’s major championship record includes a runner-up, 5 Top-5’s and 4 Top-10’s. And like Koepka, Jon saves his best for the toughest tracks and the biggest stage—so this time he’ll come out swinging for sure.

Neimann Looks to break through

Cam Smith, Bryson DeChambeau and Joaquin Niemann

While Cam will look to deliver magic with the wand, Bryson will be launching bombs into the stratosphere. If Smith drives it in the fairway, the short stick will keep him among the leaders—and then anything can happen (as it did at the ’22 Open Championship).

DeChambeau had the driver under control at Augusta, but his putter let him down—and unfortunately following up with a T26 and a T27 could not have done much for his confidence. Still, with all that power you can’t count Bryson out.

Joaquin Niemann has been showcasing his talent at every LIV event this year, and its high time he stands up to take his place among the elite players in the world. With the way he hits it tee to green, you have to believe he’ll break through soon—but will Valhalla be his first?

Valhalla: 2024 PGA Championship

PGA Championship Field

  • Brooks Koepka
  • Jon Rahm
  • Cameron Smith
  • Joaquin Niemann
  • Bryson DeChambeau
  • Dustin Johnson
  • Tyrell Hatton
  • Phil Mickelson
  • Patrick Reed
  • Talor Gooch
  • Dean Burmester
  • Adrian Meronk
  • David Puig
  • Lucas Herbert
  • Martin Kaymer
  • Andy Ogletree

LIV Power Ranking Update

Players are rated and ranked on the basis of events played, average finish, wins, runner ups, Top-5 and Top-10 finishes–as well as performance at the major championships (LIV Player Rankings).

Joaquin Niemann continues to hold the top spot in the Power rankings with a pair of wins, 2 Top-5’s and 2 Top-10’s. Jon Rahm is close behind with 4 Top-5’s and 3 Top-10’s.  

Major championship performance moves the needle in a big way, and Rahm would jump to the top with a win at Valhalla–unless Niemann records a Top 10.

Top 5

No. 1 Joaquin Niemann: 80.1 Rating

Niemann added a couple more Top 10’s with a T3 at Adelaide and a T7 in Singapore, and also improved his average finish to 7.9, edging closer to Rahm’s league lead of 5.9—and well ahead of the rest of the field.

No. 2 Jon Rahm: 74.1 Rating 

Although remaining winless, Rahm keeps churning out the Top 10’s, adding a T3 and a T10 while continuing to lead the league in average finish at 5.9—so you have to believe that first LIV win is right around the corner.  

No. 3 Dean Burmester: 65.1 Rating Burmester maintained his No. 3 position with a T3 and a T14, and also punched his ticket to the PGA Championship.

Abraham Ancer: Moves into The Top 5

No. 4 Abraham Ancer: 62.1 Rating

Since his win in Hong Kong, Ancer has posted 3 consecutive Top 10’s (T9’s at Miami and Adelaide with a T10 in Singapore), while improving his Average Finish to 12.9. Abraham will also be among the LIV contingent looking to make some noise this week.   

No. 5 Tyrell Hatton: 61.7 Rating Tyrell held his position among the Top 5 with a T14 and a T5 following the solid performance at The Masters.  Hatton is loaded with talent, so don’t be stunned if he’s hanging around the leaderboard again at Valhalla.

Dustin: Looks to get back on track

Notables

Cameron Smith (No. 6/61.3 Rating)

After a solid showing at The Masters, Smith posted a T14 at Adelaide and a runner up to Koepka in Singapore—and as long as that putter doesn’t break, expect to see him lurking on the leaderboard come Sunday next week.

Brooks Koepka (No. 8/59.0 Rating)

With a T9 and a win in Singapore (his fourth since joining LIV), Brooks jumped from the middle of the pack to the Top 10—and he’s tuned and ready to defend at Valhalla.

Dustin Johnson (No. 10/57.4) Johnson started the season right on track with a T5 in Mayakoba followed by a win in Vegas, but then the train left the rails as he finished outside the top twenty in each of the following four events—while also missing the cut at The Masters. Hopefully his T7 at Singapore last week means that Dustin is back in the groove and ready to put some heat on Scheffler next week.

Phil: Going for 102 major cuts

Phil (No. 40/28.9 Rating 

Come on Phil, 38th at Adelaide and a T22 in Singapore? Really?? One of these days you’re going to reach into the hat and there won’t be any more rabbits.

This will be his 102nd major cut if he can pull it off, tying him with Gary Player for number 2 all-time behind Jack—let’s hope there’s one more bunny hiding in there…

Trump National Doral, Miami FL

2024 Upcoming LIV Schedule

Houston Golf Club of Houston (June 7-9)

Nashville The Grove (June 21-23)

Andalucia Valderrama, Spain (July 12-14)

United Kingdom JCB Golf and Country Club (July 26-28)

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PGA Tour 2024: Scheffler’s Historic Run

Scottie Scheffler: Masters Champion

The buzz surrounding Scottie Scheffler’s fantastic season keeps getting louder every time he tees it up—but where does the ultra-hot start to his ’24 season stack up against some of the greatest seasons of all-time?

Through his first 10 starts, Scottie has recorded 4 wins, including The Players and The Masters, with 9 Top-10 finishes. After taking a look through the record books, Scheffler’s opening run in the ’24 season ranks at the very top since 1960—with only Tiger (of course) putting up a comparable record through the first 10 starts of the year in his monumental 2000 season.

Tiger: The Greatest Year

Tiger 2000

With 9 victories including 3 Major championship wins and a T5 at The Masters, the 2000 season was undoubtedly the greatest of Tiger’s amazing career. His first 10 starts that year couldn’t match what he did in the second half of the season (winning all three majors), but it was fantastic just the same with 9 Top-10’s including 4 wins and 4 runner-up finishes.

Although Tiger recorded the same number of wins with 3 more runner-up finishes and a slightly better average finish, he was 2nd in The Players and 5th at The Masters (Scheffler won both), so you have to give Scottie the nod by an eyelash.

Jack 1963

Although Nicklaus never had a “monster” year like Tiger in 2000, he had a ton of great ones to choose from—so we picked 1963 out of the hat. Jack finished the year with 5 wins, including The Masters and The PGA Championship along with 17 Top-10’s.

Jack Nicklaus

In his first 10 starts of ’63, Jack recorded 9 Top-10’s with 3 wins including The Masters, but Scheffler also won at Augusta and notched one more win—and it happened to be The Players, so once again it’s Scottie by a whisker.

Arnie 1961

Arnie had a tremendous year in ’61, making the cut in 25 of his 26 starts with 21 Top-10’s and 7 wins, including the Open Championship. He also recorded a runner-up at The Masters and a T5 at the PGA—while constantly having to look over his shoulder at Jack.

Arnie

It’s tough to have a great year without getting off to fast start, and Arnie did just that in ’61 with 9 Top-10 finishes in his first 10 starts including 3 wins. Unfortunately, Palmer missed the cut in the first tournament of the year at the LA Open, and then came heartbreak at the Masters when he made double on 18 to lose by a shot to Gary Player—so Arnie comes up just shy of Scottie’s run as well.

Johnny Miller

Johnny Miller

Perhaps the greatest iron player of all-time, Miller had his best year in 1972. Johnny made the cut in 20 of 22 starts with 13 Top-10’s and recorded 8 wins that year, and started the season sizzling hot with 3 consecutive wins (Crosby Pro-Am/Pebble Beach, The Phoenix Open and The Tucson Open).

Through his first 10 events, Johnny recorded 6 Top-10’s with 4 wins—a fantastic start to the season. As great as Johnny was at the start of ’72, it pales in comparison to what Scottie has done in 2024—and provides some perspective on just how good Scheffler has been this year.

Vijay Singh: 9 wins at 41

Vijay Singh

Vijay Singh played his first year on the PGA Tour at 30 years old, and had his greatest season in 2004 at the age of 41. In 29 starts, Vijay recorded 18 Top-10’s with 9 wins including The PGA Championship at Sahalee, while missing the cut just once.

In the first 10 starts of ’04 Vijay was terrific, making the cut in 9 of 10 events with 5 Top-10’s including a win, a runner-up and a T6 at The Masters—but still not close to the numbers Scheffler has put up.

The Road Ahead

No doubt Scottie takes it one round at a time, one tournament at a time, and that’s good–because if he looks hard at what it will take to match Tiger for the rest of the year, it may bring on a panic attack.  

Scheffler will need to win 4 more times, including 2 additional majors, without missing a cut —while recording 8 more Top-10’s and throw in a T5 at the fourth major to boot.

With the way Scheffler is hitting the ball right now, and the confidence he exudes with every shot, it certainly brings back images of Tiger at the height of his powers—but can Scottie keep it up?

We’ll have to watch and see.

Valhalla Golf Club, Louisville KY

Upcoming Events

This week the Tour is in New Orleans for the Zurich Classic (April 25-28), and then heads to  Dallas for the CJ CUP Byron Nelson (May 2-5) at TPC Craig Ranch.

Next up is the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow in Charlotte, NC (May 9-12) along with the inaugural playing of the Myrtle Beach Classic at The Dunes Golf and Beach Club (May 9-12) , followed by the second major of the year—The PGA Championship (May 16-19) at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, KY.

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Masters 2024: Clash of the Titans

Augusta National Golf Club, Augusta GA

Every year The Masters kicks off a new golf season, and the 2024 edition is shaping up to be one
for the ages. It seems like forever since Jon Rahm lifted the 2023 championship trophy, while his
departure from the PGA Tour to join LIV at the end of the season brought on a seismic shift in
the landscape of professional golf.

Jon Rahm: Reigning Masters Champion

In addition to his Masters victory, Rahm recorded 9 Top-10’s in 2023 including 3
more Tour wins, a T2 at the Open Championship and a T10 at the U.S. Open. Since joining LIV,
Jon has played 5 events with 3 Top-5’s and 2 Top-10’s—so he’s primed and ready to defend his
Masters title this weekend.

Scottie Scheffler, the 2022 Masters Champion, will be standing in his way, however—and when
you look at the way Scheffler finished the 2023 season along with the incredible year he’s had
thus far in 24’, Mr. Rahm will need every bit of his A game if he hopes to repeat at Augusta.

Scottie Scheffler: Current World Number 1

In his last 11 starts of 2023, Scottie recorded 9 Top 10’s including a T2 at The PGA and 3rd at the
U.S. Open (for the year he made 23 of 23 cuts with 17 Top-10’s and 2 wins). Scottie’s 2024
season has been even more remarkable, with 7 Top-10’s in eight starts and 2 more wins
including The Players Championship.

Let’s get ready to rumble!

Supporting Cast

Rory McIlroy has had a dismal season, but showed signs of life last week when he closed with a
66 to record his first Top 10 of the year. If Rory is on his game and making a few putts, even
Scheffler and Rahm will have their hands full trying to hold him off—and he wants nothing more
than to add a Green Jacket to his major championship profile page.

Rory McIlroy: Four Time Major Winner

After such a tough loss at The Players, Xander Schauffele has to be laser focused on landing that
first major championship. Xander has 6 Top 10’s in 8 starts without missing a cut (42 in a row
going all the way back to 2022)—so he is definitely due.

Xander Shauffele

Hideki Matsuyama had a forgettable 2023 season where he was making cuts (22 of 26), but
recorded only 2 Top 10’s. That was last year—in only 9 starts so far this year Hideki has 3 Top
10’s including a win at The Genesis in LA and T6 at The Players. Keep in mind that Matsuyama
already owns a Green Jacket (2021 Champ) and he’s coming off a strong showing (T7) at the
Valero last week—look for him among the leaders heading into Sunday.

Hideki Matsuyama

Another player to keep an eye on is Wyndam Clark (reigning U.S. Open Champ). Wyndam
recorded a win at Pebble Beach in the AT&T back in February, and had back-to-back runner-up
finishes in March (Palmer Invitational and The Players). Clark crushes it, so if he’s dialed in this
week listen for some pretty loud noise around the leaderboard come the weekend.

Wyndam Clark

Young Guns

Ludvig Aberg

This year’s Masters field will include perhaps the most talented group of young players ever
assembled at Augusta National. Nick Dunlap (20), Akshay Bhatia (22), Ludvig Aberg (24), and.
Sahith Theegala (26).

Akshay Bhatia

At only 20 years old, Nick Dunlap became the first amateur to win a Tour event since Phil when
he held off a strong field including Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele at the American Express in January. At 22, Akshay Bhatia has already won twice on Tour, including a gutsy win
at the Valero last week—and with his power you can look for a ton of wedges at Augusta.
Ludvig Aberg, by way of Sweden and Texas Tech, picked up his first Tour win at the RSM last
Fall, and with his power and ball striking the wins will pile up fast when the putter comes
around.

Sahith Theegala

A 3-time All-American at Pepperdine, Sahith Theegala has already recorded 17 Top-10’s
including a win and a T-9 at the ’23 Masters—he’ll break out at a major more sooner than later,
and Augusta suits his eye.
Check out the current top 75 players on GolfDay’s 2024 Power Rankings.

The LIV Contingent

Brooks Koepka: 5 Major Championships

LIV will be sending 13 players to the Masters this year, and Jon Rahm is not the only one with a
solid chance to don the Green Jacket on Sunday. Joaquin Niemann leads the LIV Power Rankings after winning 2 of the 5 events played thus far in 2024—and that is with Jon Rahm
barking at his heels.
Of the top 5 finishers at the 2023 Masters, 4 are currently playing on LIV—so it’s a pretty good
bet that a few will be lurking among the leaders on Sunday. Remember that before he won the
PGA last year, Brooks Koepka was lapping the field at Augusta through 3 rounds until Rahm
chased him down.
Don’t forget about DJ either—he recorded a LIV win earlier this year. And as long as Cameron
Smith has a putter in his hands, he’s extremely dangerous—particularly on the immaculate
greens at Augusta National.
Probably not likely that Phil has another rabbit hidden under his hat like the one he pulled last
year to finish runner up, but you never know.
In any event, there’s no doubt the LIV group will make their presence felt.

Betting Odds

According to FanDuel Sportsbook, Scottie Scheffler is the man to beat at (+400 to win)—but a
few names of interest are included below (as of Wednesday evening).

  • Rory McIlroy +1000.
  • Jon Rahm +1100
  • Xander Schauffele at +1400
  • Brooks Koepka +1800
  • Hideki Matsuyama +2000
  • Jordan Spieth+2200
  • Joaquin Neimann +2800
  • Ludvig Oberg+3300
  • Wyndham Clark +4000
  • Patrick Cantlay+4000
  • Cameron Smith +5000
  • Sahith Theegala +5000
  • Max Homa +7500
  • Akshay Bhatia +11000.
  • Tiger Woods +15000
  • Phil Mickelson +27000

History

Augusta National has provided some of the greatest moments in golf history—from Jack’s
magical victory at 46 years old in ’86, to Tiger’s win in ’01 that completed the “Tiger Slam.”
And of course, who can forget Greg Norman’s monumental collapse at the ’96 Masters, or when
Fred Couples’ tee shot on 12 miraculously defied gravity, clinging to the slope above Rae’s
Creek as he went on to win.
And then there was Phil’s leap, following his birdie on 18 to win his first major, and the amazing
approach on 13 from the pine straw when he took home his third green jacket in 2010.

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PGA Tour 2024: Scheffler & Company, Inc.

Scottie Scheffler: Current Number 1 Player in The World

With Jon Rahm off to LIV and Rory’s game on sabbatical, Scottie Scheffler has become
Chairman of the Board at PGA Tour Enterprises (the new “for profit” entity engineered by PGA
Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan to counter the Saudi-backed start-up league.)

To say Scottie is off to a hot start in 2024 is a massive understatement. Scheffler has made the
cut in all 7 of the events he’s entered with 6 Top-10’s and 2 wins—including back-to-back at
Bay Hill and The Players. The only tournament where Scottie finished outside the Top 10 was at
the American Express back in January (T17).

Xander Schauffele

Xander Schauffele is having one hell of a year with 6 Top-10’s in 8 starts and no missed cuts, but he is a distant 2nd in the 2024 PGA Power Rankings through last week at The Valspar. Wyndam Clark stands at third, following up his outstanding 2023 season (U.S. Open Champ) with 3 Top-10’s, including a win at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. As you scan down the list of early season leaders, a number of new names jump out including Ludwig Aberg (No. 5), Jake Knapp (No.6) and Sahith Theegala (No. 7). Who are these new guys, and what can we expect from them in 2024?

Ludvig Aberg

Other than the greatest female golfer in history (Annika Sorenstam), Sweden has not generally been known for world class golf—although Stenson’s unforgettable duel with Phil at the 2016 Open Championship certainly shined some light in that direction.

Ludvig Aberg (pronounced oh-berg) won a host of junior events in Sweden, including the Annika Sorenstam Trophy, before heading to Texas Tech where he piled up accolades including the Ben Hogan Award (’21 and ‘22), Fred Haskins Award (’23) and the Jack Nicklaus Award (’23).

Since turning pro last year at the RBC Canadian Open, Ludvig has made the cut in 17 of 18 events with 7 Top 10’s and a win at the RSM Classic last November. At 24 years old, Aberg is a big guy (6’3”) and a fantastic driver of the ball who can also putt (1st in Total Driving and 7th in Putting last year)—a powerhouse combination. In his first appearance at The Players two weeks ago he fired 3 rounds of 67 for a T10 (8th), so it should be no surprise when you see his name on the leaderboard at The Masters in April.

Jake Knapp

Jake Knapp made some noise as an amateur 10 years ago in southern California, qualifying for the U.S. Open after just turning 21 in 2015—and then disappeared for the next eight years. Actually, he was honing his game on the Canadian Tour where he broke through for a pair of wins in 2019.

In 2023 Jake played the Korn Ferry Tour, and his game began to really kick in making the cut in 20 of 22 events with 10 Top 10’s in route to gaining his PGA Tour Card for the 2024 season—and he’s made the most it.

Knapp has missed the cut just once in 8 events with 3 Top-10’s including a win at the Mexico Open and a T3 at Torre Pines in The Farmers. He also followed up his win in Mexico the very next week with a T4 at PGA National in the Cognizant Classic—so he wasted no time basking in success.

The word is that Knapp was a bouncer during his time on the Canadian Tour, but since bouncers are generally pretty bulky and somewhat fierce looking, you have to wonder where Jake was working.  In any event, you really have to pull for this young man—he’s certainly paid his dues.

Sahith Theegala

Sahith Theegala just turned 26 years old in December, but he’s already recorded 17 Top-10’s on the PGA Tour including a win at the Fortinet Championship and a T9 at The Masters last year.

Theegala’s fast start on the PGA Tour comes on the heels of an outstanding college golf career at Pepperdine, where he was a 3-tme All-American while winning the Ben Hogan, Fred Haskins, and Jack Nicklaus awards in 2020   

Thus far in 2024 Sahith has finished among the top 10 in 4 of his 8 starts, including a T9 at The Players two weeks ago. Currently Sahith stands at No. 10 in scoring and 7th in putting. Winning major championships is as much about grit and determination as it is pure talent, and Theegala is very long on both—look for Sahith to make some noise on the weekend at Augusta.

Texas Children’s Houston Open

Scottie Scheffler and Wyndam Clark are teeing it up this weekend at Memorial Park in Houston for the Texas Children’s Houston Open, so two of the top three in the Power Rankings will be battling it out. Tony Finau, the defending champion, is looking to make it back-to-back in Houston for his 7th career win on the PGA Tour. Peter Malnati, looking to maintain momentum after his emotional win at the Valspar last week, is also in the field.

Tony Finau: Looks To Go Back To Back In Houston

36 Hole Leaders

  • 1. Tony Finau (-9)
  • 2. Alejandro Tosti (-7)
  • 3. Thomas Detry (-6)
  • 4 Scottie Scheffler and five others (-5)

Where To Watch

Saturday

1:00-3:30pm Golf Channel/Peacock

3:30-6:00pm NBC/Peacock

Sunday

1:00-2:30pm Golf Channel/Peacock

2:30-6:00pm NBC/Peacock

Memorial Park: Tom Doak Renovation

Memorial Park was originally designed by John Bredemus (1936) and most recently updated by none other than Tom Doak—a master of classic course restoration. One of the best Muni’s you will find anywhere, Memorial Park is among the rare group of modern-day courses that can provide a challenge to the greatest players in the world, and still be a ton of of fun for the weekend golfer.

Next Events

Next week the Tour heads to TPC San Antonio for the Valero Texas Open (April 4-7), and then to Augusta for The Masters (April 11-14).

TPC San Antonio

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TPC at Sawgrass and The Players Championship: History and 2024 Preview

This week will mark the 50th anniversary of The Players Championship–the showcase event on the PGA Tour. From Jack Nicklaus (winner in ‘74, ‘76, and ‘78), to Greg Norman (’94), to Tiger Woods (’01 and ’13) to Rory McIlroy (’19) and Scottie Scheffler (reigning champion), The Players has been a magnificent stage for the greats of the game to display their immense talent.

Rory is still at the top of his game if he holes a few putts (ranked No. 2 in the world), and Scottie Scheffler is on fire as the hands down favorite this week (No. 1 in the world, 2023 Players champ, and fresh off a dominating 5 shot victory at Bay Hill last week), but the field is extremely deep with a host of major champions and talented young stars, so the odds are good that a new name will be etched on the 2024 Players Championship trophy.  

Scottie and Rory: 1 and 2 in the World Rankings

Preview

Wyndham Clark, the reigning U.S. Open Champion, is coming off a breakout season in 2023 where he recorded 8 Top Ten’s including 2 wins, and missed only 3 cuts. Thus far in ’24 he has made 5 of 6 cuts with a win at Pebble Beach in February and a runner-up last week at Bay Hill. Clark crushes it from the tee, so if he’s finding fairways this week you will likely see him among the last groups to go off on Sunday afternoon.

Wyndham Clark: Reigning U.S. Open Champion

Will Zalatoris, one of the premier ball-strikers in golf, is making only his sixth start following back surgery that cost him the bulk of the 2023 season. Not only did Will miss nine months of competitive golf, he was forced to make a major swing change to reduce the stress on his back. Recipe for a tough comeback year, right? Nope–in fact with his new putting approach (Broomstick Putter), he may be better than ever.

Will Zalatoris: Amazing Comeback

Zalatoris heads into the Players following a runner-up at the Genesis in LA and a T5 last week at Bay Hill—this may be the week when all that hard work delivers the ultimate payoff. 

Xander Schauffele has not missed a cut since the 2022 Masters (40 consecutive events). And while he didn’t win in 2023, and hasn’t had a win yet this year, Schauffele has recorded 15 Top 10’s in his last 29 events—a level of performance only surpassed by Scottie Scheffler (22 Top 10’s).

One thing’s for sure—Xander is due (but will the putter cooperate down the stretch?). Speaking of players that are due, Victor Hoveland has made the cut in all four events he’s played this year without recording a Top 10. Considering his 2023 season included 9 Top 10’s and 3 wins, you have to believe a big week is looming (plus one of Victor’s Top 10’s last year was a T3 at the Players).

Viktor Hoveland: 3 Wins in 2023

After a disastrous 2023 campaign, Justin Thomas has righted the ship with a T3, a T6 and two T12’s in 5 events this year. With a pair of major championships under his belt and a win at the Players in 2021, don’t be surprised if Justin is lurking on the leaderboard come Sunday. There are quite a few young players to keep an eye on as well, including Sahith Theegala, Ludvig Aberg, Jake Knapp and Nick Dunlap.

Sahith Theegala: Looking for the Big Win

Theegala has made 6 of 7 cuts this year including 3 Top-10’s, on top of 8 Top-10’s with a win in 2023. Ludwig Aberg, the long hitting Texas A&M standout from Sweden, has made the cut in all 6 of his starts this year including 2 Top-10’s. Jake Knapp recorded a win at the Mexico Open in February, and has made 6 of 7 cuts with 3 Top 10’s. Twenty-year old Nick Dunlap bested the field at The American Express in January while still a student at Alabama, the first amateur to win a PGA Tour event since Phil won the Northern Telecom Open all the way back in 1991.

Nick Dunlap: First Amateur Win Since Phil

Dunlap is a long shot for sure, particularly because experience goes a long way at TPC Sawgrass, but he has the power and precision—so maybe he’ll deliver an all-time shocker (he already did it once this year).

The Betting Line (FanDuel March 12)

Scheffler: +550

McIlroy: +1200

Schauffele: +2000

Thomas: +2500

Hoveland: +2500

Homa: +2500 

Cantlay: +2800

Morikawa: +3000

Zalatoris: +3300

Spieth: +3500

Aberg: +3500

Matsuyama: +4000

Clark: +5500

Theegala: +7000

Knapp: +17000

Dunlap: +50000

History

In the early 1970’s, former PGA Tour commissioner Deane Beman wanted to create a championship that would showcase the talent and power of professional golf in America, and shine a bright light on the PGA Tour—home to the greatest golfers in the world.

Initially called “The Tournament Players Championship,” Beman’s vision immediately gained momentum as Jack won the inaugural event in 1974, and three of the first five. The next step was to build a permanent venue that could stand with the four majors, demanding championship golf at the highest level—and so Pete Dye was brought aboard. Not only did Beman want a course that would be a stiff test of golf, he also wanted breathtaking visual appeal and viewing areas that would maximize the experience for fans.

TPC Sawgrass: Pete Dye Masterpiece

Pete Dye delivered precisely what was ordered, and then he added icing on the cake with classically positioned risk and reward holes to build maximum excitement and drama—thus creating a treasure trove of moments to be remembered and discussed year after year.

 The Stadium Course at TPC at Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL is perennially ranked by Golf Digest among the top 100 golf facilities in the U.S., and is one of Pete Dye’s crowning achievements. And to guarantee the field is maintained at a major championship level, the PGA Tour has continuously raised the purse over the years, making The Players the richest golf event in the world by a wide margin (this year the purse stands at $25 million).

Memorable Moments: Be The Right Club Today

Most everybody has seen the clip of Hal Sutton intently staring down an approach shot, saying “Be the right club…be the right club today!” 2000 Players Championship, eighteenth hole, eyeball to eyeball with Tiger Woods at the very top of his game.

Hal Sutton: 1983 and 2000 Players Champion
Continue reading “TPC at Sawgrass and The Players Championship: History and 2024 Preview” →
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Drive for Show?

Every golfer has heard the saying “drive for show, putt for dough,” but you’ll find that’s pretty far from the truth once you’ve logged a round or two.

Think about your best days on the course. No doubt you holed some putts—but it’s pretty much guaranteed the driver was operating at or near full capacity. Golf is a whole lot easier from the middle of the fairway—and exponentially so when you’re hitting wedge into the green as opposed to middle or long iron.

You also have to work pretty hard to make a double after a solid drive in the fairway, but a snap hook tee ball that disappears in the woods or a weak flare that settles down in heavy rough a couple hundred yards from the green generally spells bogey at best.

A good way to demonstrate the paramount importance of driving is to look at the top echelon players in professional golf—and they have almost universally been big hitters down through the years.

Tiger and Jack: Power and Greatness

The Longest and Greatest   

Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods are without question the greatest players in golf history, and also among the longest off the tee. Many consider Nicklaus the longest of all-time (according to Bobby Jones, Jack was ‘playing an entirely different game, and one which I’m not familiar with”). Unfortunately, official driving stats weren’t tracked by the PGA Tour until 1980 when Jack had already hit 40, but he still came in at No. 10 in distance and No. 1 in total driving with accuracy factored in (he hit 71.5% of the fairways).  

Before knee and back injuries slowed him down in 2008, Tiger was in the top 10 for distance every year with the exception of 2003 (11th) and 2007 (12th). In 1999 Tiger was 3rd in distance and 4th in Total Driving, while piling up 7 Tour wins plus a major and 7 additional Top 10’s.

In 2000 Tiger amped up the big stick even further, finishing 2nd in distance and No.1 in total driving on his way to 3 major championships, 7 more regular tour titles and another 7 Top 10’s,

Driving and the World Number 1’s

Since the World Golf Rankings were established in 1986, twenty-five players have reached number 1 in the world and the vast majority have been long off the tee. Bernhard Langer was the first to hold the Number 1 moniker after his win at the ’85 Masters (yes, the same Bernhard who is still winning on the Champions Tour). Although Langer was not generally regarded as a long hitter, he ranked 17th in distance on the PGA Tour in ’85.

Greg Norman: 331 weeks at #1
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/29/sports/golf/greg-norman-pga-saudi-arabia.html

Norman and Seve

Following Bernard’s brief tenure as No. 1, the top spot oscillated between Greg Norman and Seve Ballesteros though the end of 1990. Norman held World Number 1 longer than any player other than Tiger (331 weeks), and he is also regarded by many as the greatest driver of all time.

From 1984 to 1994, Norman was among the top ten in driving distance every year but two (No. 15 in 1989 and No. 32 in 1992). Not only was he long, but he was straight as well—No. 1 in total driving in 1988, 1989 and 1993 plus 5 years in the top ten.

Seve Ballesteros: Power and Grace
https://www.liveabout.com/seve-ballesteros-pictures-4056191

Seve Ballesteros played predominantly on the European Tour (now the DP World Tour) and driving distance stats are sketchy, but he possessed a powerful (though somewhat erratic) tee shot. Seve drove the green on the Par 4 10th hole at the Belfry a number of times, a 290 plus yard carry over water calling for a high cut, including at the 1989 Ryder Cup where he dropped an Eagle putt from inside twenty feet. Keep in mind he was using a persimmon driver with a soft ballata golf ball, and the average distance off the tee on the PGA Tour that year was just under 262 yards.

Tiger: 683 Weeks at #1
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Tiger-Woods

Tiger

Tiger held the top spot in the World Golf Rankings from 1999 through 2010 with the exception of 6 months in 2004/2005 when Vijay Singh (another fantastic driver of the ball) briefly moved into the No. 1 position. In all, Tiger was World Number 1 for an astounding 683 weeks—and an intimidating presence on the tee.

Between 1997 and 2007, Tiger was among the top five in distance six times, and the top ten every year but two (11th in 2003 and 12th in 2007).

McIlroy: 2023 Tour Distance Leader
https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/22/golf/rory-mcilroy-remote-controlled-ball-fan-spt-intl/index.html

Rory, DJ and Brooks Koepka

Rory first reached number 1 in the world back in 2012 when he had just turned 23 years old, and has held the Number 1 position on and off for a total of 122 weeks (most recently from October ’22 through February ‘23).

And of course, McIlroy can bomb it with anybody (picture that majestic high draw that seems to carry forever). Since 2017 Rory has been either first or second in driving distance every year but one (4th in 2020) and led the Tour in distance last year averaging 326.3 yards.

Brooks and DJ: Big hitters Rising to #1

Dustin Johnson ascended to World No. 1 in 2017, and is behind only Tiger and Greg Norman for the longest time at the top (135 weeks). From 2009 through 2021, Johnson ranked among the top 5 in distance every year but 3 (6th in 2018, 10th in 2020 and 7th in 2021).

After winning the CJ Cub on the heels of two major championships (US Open and PGA), Brooks Koepka first assumed World Number 1 in October of 2018, and through February of 2020 he spent 47 weeks at the top. Between 2014 and 2019 Brooks finished outside the top 10 in driving distance only once (19th in 2016).

Knee and hip injuries at the end of 2019 through 2020 severely impacted Koepka’s driving distance and his ability to compete, but after rehab he was injury free in 2023 and recorded a runner up at the Masters, a win at the PGA and a top 20 at the US Open (where he was also second in driving distance averaging 320.6 yards).

Scheffler and Rahm: Battling for #1

Scheffler and Rahm

Jon Rahm or Scottie Scheffler have occupied the top spot in the World Golf Rankings since June of 2021 with the exception of DJ for a week in July of ’21 and Rory from October ’22 through February ’23.

Not surprisingly, both are fantastic drivers of the ball. Since 2017, Rahm finished outside the top 20 in distance only once (22nd in 2020) and was #1 in Total Driving twice—2021 and 2022. Scheffler has plenty of distance (16th in ‘20 and 19th in ‘22) while finishing among the top 10 in total driving 3 of the last 4 years (his lowest ranking was 13th in 2022).

The Putting Factor

There is no question that both Jack and Tiger were amazing putters, particularly on critical putts under maximum pressure, but while putting prowess separated them further from the field, the incredible record they each achieved would not have been possible without the power game.

Jack and Tiger: Power and Putting

Luke Donald possesses one of the finest putting strokes ever seen on the PGA Tour, finishing first in putting from 2009 through 2011. Luke was also a fantastic iron player, but struggled from the tee throughout his career.

In 2010 Donald ranked 186th on tour in total driving, but made a dramatic jump in both distance and accuracy in 2011, allowing him to ride that great putter all the way to #1 in the world. Unfortunately, Luke’s difficulties from the tee returned in 2013 and as his driving numbers dropped each year, so too did his world ranking—even as his putting stroke remained as silky as ever.

This is not to minimize the importance of putting, only to illuminate the fact that driving is far and away the biggest factor in determining success on the golf course. Power players have reached #1 in the world without being particularly good putters (Freddie Couples and Vijay Singh come immediately to mind), but some of the greatest putters in modern history who were not great drivers of the ball are conspicuously missing from the list of #1’s (Ben Crenshaw, Corey Pavin and Brad Faxon for example).

Bottom line is you drive for the dough, and putt for—well, some additional dough perhaps…   

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