AUGUSTA, Ga. — How fitting that the jacket is green.
Who wouldn’t envy what Scottie Scheffler has done?
Not only has he been the world’s No. 1 golfer for 99 weeks, but also at age 28 he has two Masters victories and a chance to become the first back-to-back winner of the storied tournament since Tiger Woods in 2002.
Scheffler’s stay at the top of the Official World Golf Rankings is the longest streak by any player outside of Woods, who had a pair of astounding stretches of 281 and 264 weeks.
Is it harder to get to No. 1 or stay No. 1?
“Staying there is a lot harder than getting there, I would say,” said Jon Rahm, who won the Masters in 2023. “What we’ve seen Scottie do over the last three, four years is quite impressive.
“Anytime you have a year where you’re being compared to Tiger in his prime, I don’t think we need to add anything else to that.”
Meanwhile, as the Masters starts Thursday, another of the world’s greatest golfers is looking to add a green jacket to his wardrobe. It’s the last unchecked box for Rory McIlroy, who needs to win at Augusta National to become the sixth player to complete a career Grand Slam, with victories in all four major championships.
Scheffler’s mental approach is as steady and even-keeled as his consistent results.
“When I think about getting ready for this week, when I step on the first tee on Thursday, I’m going to remind myself that I’ve done what I needed to do to play well, and it’s all about going out and competing now,” he said. “I really try not to look too much into the past. I try not to look too far into the future. I just like to stay in the present and just go one week at a time.”
For McIlroy, that missing puzzle piece of a Masters victory seems closer than ever now. He has won twice on the PGA Tour this year and, after years of practice, is determined to turn down the volume on the chatter outside the ropes.
Five-time Masters champion Tiger Woods congratulates two-time Masters winner Scottie Scheffler after he won the Hero World Challenge 2024.
(Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
“It’s just narratives,” McIlroy said. “It’s noise. It’s just trying to block out that noise as much as possible. I need to treat this tournament like all the other tournaments I play throughout the year.”
It’s not the same, of course. Not for McIlroy, who famously imploded at the 2011 Masters, shooting an 80 on Sunday to go from a four-shot lead to a tie for 15th. He’s had several close calls since then, including shooting 64 in the 2022 final round to finish second, three shots behind Scheffler.
Yet the fact remains that McIlroy hasn’t won a major since 2014 despite having more top-10 finishes in those than anyone in golf. That’s 21 top-10 finishes since 2015 and zero majors won, followed by Brooks Koepka (17, five wins), Dustin Johnson (16, two wins) and Xander Schauffele (15, two wins).
Last year Collin Morikawa was the only player to break par in each of the first three rounds of the Masters and finished tied for third. He and Schauffele were the only players to finish among the top 20 in all four majors.
While others feel it’s helpful to normalize majors — it’s just another tournament, they reason — Morikawa finds he’s at his best when shouldering the weight of expectations.
“Everyone always talks about being nervous and ramping up too much and they have to calm themselves down,” he said. “I’m almost the opposite. That’s what I’ve learned over the handful of years of being a pro is I almost need to put more pressure on myself and ramp it up and get my heart rate going. I’m better off if I were to just show up with a minute to spare and I didn’t warm up and say, OK, go play golf.”