Scottie Scheffler enters Tiger Woods territory in the most Scottish way possible

The last Sunday in January is a holy time in sports television – and THIS Last Sunday was even more special.

For a glorious weekend, while the weather is cold and the living room is warm, all eyes are on the television. And with a major snowstorm sweeping much of the United States, sports TV hosts are salivating: this weekend’s numbers could even be bigger than normal.

In theory, those conditions set the stage for a big crowd for Scottie Scheffler’s first win of 2026 at the American Express in Palm Springs, California. a blowout win which served as the latest and most important testimony of Scheffler’s historical trajectory. But in practice, those were the conditions that made for an ideal Scheffler victory celebration: a routine shot that no one appreciated because it coincided with the draw of the weekend’s major sports, the NFC and AFC Championship Games.

In the end, Scheffler’s win was the kind that illustrated the full breadth of his historic golf run in the 2020s. With his four-stroke victory at the American Express, he became just the third golfer of the modern era to amass 20 wins before the age of 30, behind only Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus. Scheffler also became the third-fastest player in golf history to reach 20 wins in his 151 starts behind Woods (95) and Nicklaus (127), but well ahead of Arnold Palmer (178). (These stats come to us courtesy of the always excellent Justin Ray.)

In most ways, it was fitting that Scheffler’s history-sealing victory Sunday came before one of the lowest settings on the pro golf calendar. Since arriving in pro golf, the world No. 1 has gone to unusual lengths to downplay his burgeoning celebrity — going so far as to travel to a Chipotle location in another city where he has found himself less likely to be recognized. His field goal for him the ninth win by four or more shots since 2021, which would be good for the second-most wins on the PGA Tour by any margin over the same time period, was timed to generate the least amount of buzz.

It was also fitting that Scheffler would take the opportunity to debut a whole new style of dominance Sunday afternoon at PGA West, eschewing his typical mental toughness game in favor of a frenzied display of ball enthusiasm. Scheffler recorded one surprising thing nine birdies on Sunday, and even that doesn’t sell the performance that made the tournament uncompetitive by the time he reached the 13th tee. Of his nine birdies, only one required a putt of more than five feet (!).

In the end, the people who could speak to Scheffler the best were those who witnessed him firsthand, including 18 year old Blades Brownwho learned firsthand how wide Scheffler’s gap to world No. 1 looks at the start of 2026.

“I’d say one of the most interesting things I learned today was how underrated Scottie Scheffler’s short game is,” Brown said, highlighting one of the perceived. weaknesses in Scheffler’s play. “Seeing it in person and seeing the trajectory and the spin and the control that he has with his wedges and the short game. Obviously his putting is crazy as well. It was really cool to see. So I’m definitely going to work on that.”

Brown said Scheffler was a perfect playing partner, even going out of his way during Sunday’s final round to give the teenager advice. This, too, was a sign of Scheffler’s break with the stars of yesteryear, who would rather stare at holes in the ground (Woods) or embrace the challenge within (Nicklaus) than interact so cheerfully in the heat of battle.

However, the similarities between the trio were more striking. Like Nicklaus and Woods, it’s becoming clear that Scheffler has the kind of gravitational pull that strengthens Sunday afternoon … and has primal power over his closest counterparts. Case in point: At one point Sunday afternoon, Scheffler’s two partners (Brown and Si Woo Kim) were the only players in the entire field at American Express above par.

But what if you were hoping Scheffler would comment on that fact — acknowledge his greatness or, as Woods so often did, evoke his competitive aura? Well, you have been disappointed.

Even after Sunday’s win at the Amex, the magic number 20 that put Scheffler clear in the sights of the two greatest players ever, the story from the man himself was familiar.

“I mean it’s pretty wild. It’s been a great start to my career and I’ve had some nice wins here and it’s been special,” he said. “I try not to really think too much about these things. I’ll go home and rest a little bit and rinse and repeat, and go from there.”

In the end, it was another sleepy, low key victory for the world’s best golfer – another ho-hum victory that changed the course of golf history … and went right under the noses of a bewildered sports world.

Which, it turns out, is just the way Scottie Scheffler likes it.