With seven victories on the PGA Tour together with the Masters, his FedEx Cup success and Olympic gold, Scheffler has put collectively an excellent season.
Scottie Scheffler’s victory within the Tour Championship caps a effective season for the world primary and brings a chance to mirror on the state of the elite males’s recreation.
Right here, golfnews.co.uk seems on the state of affairs heading in direction of 2025.
Will Scheffler’s dominance proceed?
With seven victories on the PGA Tour together with the Masters, his FedEx Cup success and an Olympic gold medal, Scheffler has put collectively an excellent season.
He has not been fazed by frequent comparisons to Tiger Woods and proved he can ship beneath stress. Like all gamers, he nonetheless makes errors however he has proven a robust psychological capability to get well from them.
If there may be a part of his recreation that may nonetheless be improved it’s his placing, however he’s near being the entire participant. Type can come and go however with such fortitude and consistency, there may be each motive to consider his dominance can stick with it.
Does he not nonetheless face robust competitors?
Sure after all. Regardless of Scheffler’s pre-eminence, he has not been the one present on the town. Xander Schauffele has definitely run him shut for the title of 2024’s greatest participant, having captured the US PGA Championship and the Open titles. With Bryson DeChambeau profitable the US Open, all 4 majors have been taken by People, which means there may be loads of competitors from inside his personal nation.
The likes of Collin Morikawa, Wyndham Clark, Patrick Cantlay and LIV participant Brooks Koepka all add to the US power. Sweden’s Ludvig Aberg will hope to kick on after a formidable first full 12 months on the principle circuit after which there may be the risk from Rory McIlroy.
The place is McIlroy at?
Because the world quantity three and with one other couple of event wins beneath his belt, there isn’t a doubt McIlroy has had one other effective 12 months.
But after a barren run within the majors that now stretches to a decade, he could also be taking a look at it in another way. His close to miss on the US Open was his most heartbreaking but.
In contrast to on the 2022 Open at St Andrews when he was caught by a surging Cameron Smith, this time he may solely kick himself after two pricey missed brief putts down the stretch.
He has since admitted that solid a shadow over the rest of his 12 months and he might cut back his schedule in future. No one doubts the Northern Irishman’s high quality however his seek for the magic main formulation continues.
How are issues off the course?
Elite males’s golf stays fractured with no obvious finish in sight to the merger talks between the principle excursions and the breakaway, Saudi-funded upstart LIV Golf. LIV’s raid for Jon Rahm didn’t speed up negotiations and the PGA Tour pressed forward with their ‘signature occasions’ sequence in an try to stave off future defections.
The long-running saga has been extremely damaging for the game’s picture and can stay so so long as it continues.
May it have an effect on the Ryder Cup?
Europe’s preparations for the 2023 occasion have been disrupted by LIV – not least with an enforced change of captain – and it may occur once more if Rahm, certainly one of their key gamers, misses out on qualification.
The People is also affected however whether or not this focuses minds stays to be seen. The build-up to Bethpage subsequent 12 months has already begun.
With Luke Donald lengthy in place, Europe look nicely organised this time in distinction to the People, who named Keegan Bradley late and will face a dilemma if he additionally qualifies as a participant.