16 million in 42 days, from jacket to jacket

From the green jacket to the tartan jacket. This Monday, Scottie Scheffler, eight days after winning the Masters at Augusta, confirmed his victory at the RBC Heritage. The American, whom only rain could delay, secured his fourth tournament win of the season. Had it not been for a missed putt at the Texas Children’s Houston Open, which would have forced a playoff for the win, the streak could have been five consecutive triumphs. With or without that putt, however, the moment is more than sufficient for the American to continue asserting his era, which began to take shape in 2022 with his first title. Since then, in a rapid ascent, he has amassed ten victories, in addition to 49 consecutive weeks as the world number one.

Scottie Scheffler, results

“I’m maturing as a person. Mentally, I’ve felt as good over the last month as I have in a long time. I think that’s why I’m getting some of these results. I played very well in the middle of the tournament, which is very good,” celebrated Scheffler, who has been inundated with good news, as the birth of his child, for whom he was prepared to leave Augusta, draws near. On the sporting front, at Harbour Town Golf Links, he became the first player since Bernhard Langer in 1985 to secure a victory one week after triumphing at The Masters (Langer also achieved this feat at Harbour Town). Furthermore, he also became the first player to win four out of five consecutive tournaments since Tiger Woods between 2007 and 2008.

Based on statistics, Scheffler’s moment can be inflated almost as much as one desires. Currently, the point difference between the American and the second-ranked player, Rory McIlroy, is larger than the difference between the Northern Irishman and Tiger himself, who is ranked 784th. Furthermore, in his last 50 outings, the American has accumulated nine victories. A remarkable feat considering that David Duval, with 33 outings, is the player in history who required the fewest outings between his first and tenth victory. Economically, Scottie has amassed $16.3 million (€15.3 million) in the last 42 days, a figure that, at this point, ranks as the third highest ever in a complete season. Ahead of him are the 2023 seasons of both Jon Rahm ($16.5 million) and Scheffler himself, who accumulated $21 million last year.

Invincible like Korda Once the storm had settled, this Monday, Scheffler extended his streak starting with a five-stroke margin and three holes to play. In 45 minutes, with his only bogey of the week at the 18th hole (ending a streak of 68 consecutive holes at par or better), he sealed the deal with a final score of -19, with rounds of 69, 65, 63, and 68 strokes. Unreachable. “Even though I finished second, I felt like I was never in contention to win there. Scottie was way ahead,” said American Sahith Theegala, who finished at -16. With him, Wyndham Clark (-15), Patrick Cantlay (-15), and Justin Thomas (-14) attempted to chase. At present, an impossible feat. Just like on the women’s circuit, with Nelly Korda securing five consecutive victories, Scheffler, as of today, is invincible.