Scottie is coming for the doubters

Golf Digest

I’m going to estimate that roughly 92 percent of the time in professional golf, a true blowout is boring. You want some drama at the finish, some nerves, some JUICE. But there are occasions when a blowout is thrilling, and the most famous example of that is Tiger Woods at Pebble Beach in 2000, when he started off the Tiger Slam by decimating the entire field at the U.S. Open and letting us know that the sport as we knew it had just been redefined.

And look, I’m not comparing what Scottie Scheffler did in Memphis this past weekend to that astounding feat, but I do think it falls into the 8 percent category of riveting smackdowns. All year, despite easily maintaining his World No. 1 ranking and playing better over the long term than anyone else, Scheffler has been a man on the brink when it comes to actually winning. His resume before Memphis read: no majors, no Players, one paltry AmEx win, and a whole bunch of runner-ups. But at the FedEx St. Jude, he crushed everyone, nearly doubling the score of second place, and embodied that Stringer Bell "The Wire" meme: “I want you to put the word out there that we back up.” Dave Shedloski was covering the event for Digest, and as he said so succinctly in the headline, “point made.”

Read his excellent recap below, and marvel at the return of the alpha.

Point made! Scottie Scheffler wins 21st tour title, takes buzzsaw to FedEx St. Jude field

The World No. 1 dominated in Memphis, winning by eight shots in collecting his second PGA Tour trophy this season.

By Dave Shedloski

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Ryan Herrington 

Cynics will tell you that the massive acceleration of prize money payouts on the PGA Tour in recent years makes any comparison between earnings today and those of even just a decade ago laughable. (Same with most any sport by the way.) But as Scottie Scheffler looks poised to knock off Tiger Woods from the No. 1 spot on the all-time tour money list (and Rory McIlroy looms not far behind) it’s notable because of just how long Tiger has been at the top of the mountain: 26-plus years. Woods’ took over for Greg Norman at No. 1 on Feb. 13, 2000 with a runner-up finish at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. Norman at the time had earned $12.94 million in his career.

Coleman Bentley 

Scottie Scheffler has changed his tune. Not on life, legacy or golf, but on caddie Ted Scott's mustache. Last week, Scheffler said his looper "looked stupid" with his new lip candy, but following The World No. 1's runaway victory at the FedEx St. Jude Championship on Sunday, he reversed course. Scheffler himself even looked a little scruffy. Could the duo be plotting an all-powerful playoff beard/playoff mustache combination? We'll have to wait and see, but if no razors are touched between now and Thursday, there may be no stopping them.

Dave Shedloski 

It stands to reason that Jack Nicklaus' Memorial Tournament eventually would join the ranks of the PGA Tour's new Championship Series that begins in 2028, given its longtime reputation as one of golf's premier events. And now it has come to pass. The invitational founded in 1976 at Nicklaus' Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio, was added to the roster Monday. The Memorial is the second of the three invitationals on the PGA Tour to commit to the higher of the two proposed tiers that tour CEO Brian Rolapp announced in June, joining the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Almost certain to follow suit will be the third, the Genesis Invitational hosted by Tiger Woods. The 2027 Memorial is scheduled for May 31–June 6. No date for 2028 has been announced.