It was the greatest year for a player since Tiger Woods won eight times in 2006, including six in a row and two majors, all while dealing with the death of his father.
So, quite rightly, Scottie Scheffler is earning rich praise for his 2024 season.
His eight wins included the Masters, THE PLAYERS Championship, an Olympic gold medal and the TOUR Championship which deservedly saw him claim the FedExCup.
Away from the course, there were highs and lows.
He welcomed his first child into the world but also had to deal with his bizarre arrest during the PGA Championship in Kentucky.
Nothing could halt his march though as the wins kept on coming.
The man to beat
Justin Thomas says that Scheffler has become the benchmark for other players on the PGA Tour.
“He’s the guy to beat every single week,” Thomas said.
“I don’t think people understand how hard that is to do, when you’re expected to win, when you’re the favorite to win, when every single thing you’re doing is being looked at — good and bad — on the golf course, and how hard it is to get in your own little zone and own little world and truly just quiet the noise.”
Collin Morikawa mounted the only real challenge to Scheffler’s triumph in the TOUR Championship but said that Scheffler is a super-tough player to face off with as he plays better after making a mistake.
“He’s not going to just starting making bogeys after that,” Morikawa said. “He’s going to do the opposite, and he’s going to start hitting golf shots. It almost brought his focus back in for a half second, and that’s something you can’t teach.
“Six shots behind was hard against the best player in the world,” Morikawa said. “I tried.”
Australia’s top golfer Adam Scott couldn’t help but compare Scheffler’s seasons to some of the best from Tiger Woods.
“I think it is on par with those great years of Tiger’s,” Scott said. “I think it’s very hard today for anyone to separate themselves as much as Scottie has. I don’t think we’ve seen that in a long time. I think it’s harder to do it today.”
Rory McIlroy denied Scheffler the FedExCup in 2022 but had to give the American his due praise for a terrific campaign in 2024.
“We’ll look back on 2024 and it’s obviously one of the best individual years that a player has had for a long time,” Rory McIlroy said.
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