Scottie Scheffler did not need another wad of world ranking points to prove what is already abundantly clear – he is by a distance the best golfer in the world.
The 28-year-old American capped an extraordinary 2024 by emerging from a two-month hibernation to romp to a six stroke victory at the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas last Sunday.
The outcome was never in doubt. It was another dominant display from the reigning Masters, Players and Olympic champion, who was last seen competitively at September’s Presidents Cup.
There are, though, a couple of caveats. This win came from a field of only 20 players and Scheffler was one of only three members of the world’s top 10 on display.
It is clear that exceptional levels of golfing magic continue to course through the veins of the game’s supreme exponent. He emphatically proved this by finishing 25 under par to defend his title.
“He doesn’t really do anything wrong,” observed tournament host Tiger Woods.
The consistency of his performances demands that we compare him with the 15- times major champion. Historically Woods is miles ahead, but the current world number one is achieving Tiger-like feats.
Scheffler was 293 under par for his 21 starts this year. He won nine of those tournaments – or 42.9% of them – to tie Woods and Vijay Singh for the most prolific seasons in terms of wins.
The tall Texan is the first male player to start and finish the year as world number one since Woods in 2009.
Woods gained more ranking points in 2000, while he was completing the Tiger-slam of all four majors, as well as 2005 and 2006.
Each time he smashed the 700 point barrier and now Scheffler has become the only other player to manage that mark in a calendar year.
For context, his tally of 727 points in 2024 compares with 444 for Xander Schauffele, who won The Open and US PGA Championship, and 347 for world number three and Race to Dubai champion Rory McIlroy.
While watching the final round in the Bahamas, Woods described Scheffler’s unconventional footwork as “the contortions he gets into” but could not hide his admiration for the quality and control of the champion’s ball striking.
“If you stand behind him and watch the ball flight it is very tight either way,” Woods added.
“Yes, he’s making a significant number of birdies, but he’s not making any mistakes. No doubles, no loose bogeys here and there.”
These were the qualities of golfing discipline patented by Woods in his pomp.
Then there is Scheffler’s work on the greens, which was his perceived Achilles heel until he successfully switched to a mallet style putter under the tutelage of British coach Phil Kenyon in the early part of the season.
And now, a further refinement with Scheffler adopting a ‘claw’ grip for shorter putts with encouraging early signs. “What is that thing?” the ultra orthodox Woods joked when he first saw the new method last week.
“You know he can do it either way,” the former world number one added. “He’s got amazing feel.
“You can see it around his short game and trajectory control into greens. If he has consistency on the greens he’s going to finish top 10 every week and pick off a lot (of wins).”
Scheffler collected just over 30 world ranking points for his six stroke victory over Tom Kim to further cement his place at the top of the world standings.
Yes, it might seem fitting that such a dominating performance should gain due recognition in the rankings – but this was an invitation tournament with a severely restricted field.
It does little for the credibility of the official rankings at a time when the breakaway LIV tour, with its 54-man fields, is not recognised by the Official World Golf Rankings.
Whether LIV should receive points is a separate argument, but the fact that the Hero does seems inconsistent. By finishing runner-up in the Bahamas, Kim climbed six places to 21 in the world.
Justin Thomas, who was third, climbed from 25 to 22. These are helpful elevations for these players but they were not gained by beating golfers scrapping for their futures, as was the case – for example – in the International Series event in Saudi Arabia.
Joaquin Niemann beat a full field at the Asian Tour’s season finale last weekend and received a fraction more than 21 world ranking points, which was more than nine fewer than Scheffler gained for beating just 19 fellow competitors.
Yes the players in Saudi were of a lower calibre (although Niemann had to beat former Open champion Cameron Smith in a play-off) but there was a competitive intensity in the Middle East that was much less apparent at Woods’ event.
So add this factor in the continuing erosion of the validity of the world rankings to the list of so many things that need sorting out in the men’s game. It still remains dangerously split since the 2022 arrival of the LIV Golf League.
Its commissioner Greg Norman has confirmed he is leaving his post in the near future, which is a rare certainty in a period of continuing turbulence. Maybe the departure of the abrasive Aussie offers a path to peace, who knows?
But, at a time when inevitabilities are in such short supply, there is one banker. Whenever the biggest names come together next year, Scheffler will remain the man to beat.
