The Remarkable Rise of Scottie Scheffler

Scottie Scheffler is currently the most dominant player in all golf and has been for several years. He recently secured his fourth major championship at the Open Championship at Royal Portrush, winning by four strokes in a commanding performance. Now, Scheffler is just one title away from completing the career Grand Slam, needing only the U.S. Open, having already won the Masters in 2022 and 2024, and both the PGA Championship and Open Championship in 2025.
Another golfer who once similarly dominated the sport is Tiger Woods. Woods controlled the game from 1997 to 2008, claiming 14 major titles during that time. In this article, we compare Scheffler’s achievements from the start of his professional career in 2018 to the present with Tiger Woods’s first seven years as a professional, from 1996 to 2003.
Scheffler’s Achievements

Scheffler enjoyed a successful amateur career, including a win at the U.S. Junior Amateur in 2013 and low amateur honours at the 2017 U.S. Open. After turning professional in 2018, he was named Korn Ferry Tour Player of the Year in 2019 and PGA Tour Rookie of the Year in 2020.
His breakout season came in 2022. Within three months, he earned his first PGA Tour victory, ascended to world number one, and captured his first major title at the 2022 Masters Tournament. He went on to win The Players Championship in both 2023 and 2024, becoming the first golfer to defend the title successfully. In 2024, he added a second Master's win and earned the gold medal in the men’s tournament at the Summer Olympics. In 2025, Scheffler captured his third and fourth majors at the PGA Championship and the Open Championship.
At just 29 years old, Scheffler has accomplished an extraordinary amount in a short span and has many years ahead to further his legacy.
Scheffler vs. Woods
By 2003, Tiger Woods had been on the professional tour for seven years, the same duration that Scheffler has now been competing. Let's compare their respective achievements during these initial seven-year periods.
First PGA Tour Victory
Scheffler turned professional in 2018 but didn’t reach the PGA Tour until 2020, having spent time on the Korn Ferry Tour. He claimed his first PGA Tour win in February 2022 at the Phoenix Open and followed it up with three more victories by April. Notably, his fourth win was also his first major: the 2022 Masters.
In comparison, Woods turned pro in 1996 and secured two PGA Tour wins that same year, both in October, at the Las Vegas Invitational and the Walt Disney World/Oldsmobile Classic. Like Scheffler, Woods’s fourth win was a major, the 1997 Masters.
Major Wins
In his first seven years, Scheffler has captured four major championships—three different majors, missing only the U.S. Open.
By contrast, Woods had amassed eight major titles by 2003 and completed the career Grand Slam. Between 1997 and 2003, Woods won:
- The Masters – 3 times (1997, 2001, 2002)
- The U.S. Open – 2 times (2000, 2002)
- The Open Championship – 1 time (2000)
- The PGA Championship – 2 times (1999, 2000)
That’s double the number of majors compared to Scheffler during the same career span.
At just 29 years old, Scheffler has accomplished an extraordinary amount in a short span and has many years ahead to further his legacy.
Weeks as World Number One
Scheffler reached world number one on March 27, 2022, and has held the position for 150 weeks and counting.
Woods first reached world number one in August 1999 and remained there for 264 consecutive weeks, with 227 of those weeks falling within the 1996–2003 comparison period.
Conclusion
Scottie Scheffler has enjoyed a phenomenal seven-year run as a professional, but his dominance still falls short when compared to Tiger Woods’s early career. That said, Scheffler is the closest the modern game has seen to Woods’s level of supremacy. Woods remained dominant for 11 years before injuries began to impact his performance. If Scheffler can maintain his form and avoid setbacks, his period of dominance could extend even further, potentially rewriting golf’s record books.
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Jack Guing
Jack hails from County Offaly in Ireland and joins the team as a Content Writer and Performance Analyst. He holds a bachelor’s degree in English and History from Maynooth University and a master’s degree in Sports Performance from the University of Limerick. Jack is a keen sports fan with a love for performance analysis and wishes to use this data-driven style that is seen in performance analysis in his writing to deliver informative predictions.