Scottie: To top Tiger’s legacy is a tall order
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER believes he faces a “tall task” to enjoy a sustained period of dominance despite seemingly solving his sole weakness.
Last year, the world no.1 compiled one of the best ball-striking seasons with his adjusted scoring average of 68.63 being the seventh-lowest in PGA Tour history – and the best by anyone not named Tiger Woods.
Scheffler was first in nine categories – but 162nd out of 193 players in putting.
World no.2 Rory McIlroy suggested Scheffler should change to a mallet putter to cure his problems on the greens and the former Masters champion duly did so before strolling to a fiveshot victory in the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
That fuelled speculation Scheffler could be on his way to dominating the game as he prepares his bid to become the first to successfully defend the Players Championship in its 50-year history.
In a pre-tournament
press conference at Sawgrass yesterday, Scheffler said: “It would be good for the game of golf.
“It’s a pretty challenging game and we’ve got a lot of talent out here, so being that dominant figure is a very tall task to ask of anybody but we’ve got some guys out here I think can definitely pull it off.”
Asked to name a player, other than Woods who had dominated recently, Scheffler added: “Well, you kind of put me in a corner here by taking Tiger away.
“I don’t know if we’ll ever see anything like that again in the game of golf.
“You had Jordan (Spieth) go through his stretch, a year where JT (Justin Thomas) won five times, those years Rory was winning Majors. nobody’s really been able to have the longevity that Tiger had.”