The past few weeks of Sccotie Scheffler have provoked thought in many. Has he established himself as the player to beat every week and advanced to his own tier on the PGA Tour?
Of course, one may argue in favor of it. In consecutive weeks, Scheffler emerged victorious from both the Arnold Palmer Invitational and the Players Championship. In the latter event, he overcame a poor neck that his caddie had predicted would force him to withdraw from the competition, rallying from five down after 54 holes.
This, however, was merely the most recent example of Scheffler’s brilliance. The world number one is coming off a double-winning and 17 top-10 finishes in 23 starts (including 13 top 5) PGA Tour Player of the Year campaign. He is the first player to win it back-to-back since Tiger Woods in 2005–07.
What it was like to play young golfers Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth | Not very good
Thomas Detry joins Subpar’s Colt Knost and Drew Stoltz, sharing his early thoughts on Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas as juniors.
Now, following the Players’ performance the previous week, is he beginning to distance himself even further?
During the Valspar Championship this week, Justin Thomas was asked to identify the most dominant golfer he has ever seen on the Tour, excluding Tiger Woods.
Thomas remarked, “Nobody has played better or with as much consistency as Scottie has in the last few years.” In my opinion, dominance is defined as the ability to win often and with great success. If someone hasn’t experienced anything akin to Tiger, then it must be the one who has won the most. Thus, I would respond “most likely, Scottie.”
Before mentioning Scheffler, Thomas stated he had approximately three or four alternative golfers in mind. A few players have experienced crucial phases. In two and a half years, Jordan Spieth earned three major championships. In sixteen months, Jason Day won eight times. In four years, Dustin Johnson fifteen times.
Almost every year that Rory McIlroy has competed on the Tour, he has won at least once, if not more often. More recently, from January to April of last year, Jon Rahm won four times, including the Masters championship. A few years ago, Thomas himself won seven times in seventeen months.
You may recall that golf was unable to even name its most dominant player back in around 2016. The Big Three—sometimes referred to as “The Big Four”—was a concept created by the golf media and comprised of Spieth, Day, McIlroy, and Johnson.
Is it preferable to play golf with a dominant player or a core group of competitors?
Thomas remarked, “It’s a really good question.” “I’ve also considered it in the past. Although it’s perhaps unfair to state, I believe it really depends on the individual. I am aware that’s severe.
However, precisely what is harsh? Here, Thomas’ microphone briefly cut out, but he went on, perhaps elaborating on his idea by citing his friend Spieth as an example.
Although Jordan might be leading by six, he will still have that hilarious conversation with [caddie Michael] Greller in the trees on hole 16, where he feels like he can slice this 3-wood onto the green, even though it’s not really going to gain him anything.
Maybe he chips it, or he pulls it off, but there’s that excitement factor compared to others. “You shouldn’t compare or use Tiger, but anybody’s going to watch Rory or someone like him or Jordan, or whatever, win by seven or eight, just because you still don’t know the fun,”
Thomas said. I feel like there are a lot of players that I mean, are kind of jealous of how well they’re playing and all the things they do well in their game, so that motivates me to sort of want to do the same.
I believe it’s better for the game; I know it’s motivating for me when it’s like this. Thus, I suppose the answer just depends on who you ask.
The most dominant player in golf right now, Scheffler, will look to win the Texas Children’s Houston Open the following week to extend his winning streak to three. He’s demonstrated that he’s currently in a separate stratosphere. Does he have another week to do this?
“Scottie comes to mind when I think of dominant
[right now], so yeah,” Thomas remarked.
