They said he couldn’t handle links golf, that it wasn’t his thing. That the wind, the bunkers, and the whole gritty Open setup would rattle him. And then Scottie Scheffler showed up and did what Scottie Scheffler does: he wins, and this time it’s a big one. With the Claret Jug now in his hands, he’s just one major shy of the elusive career Grand Slam. The golf world is still taking it all in, and while online conversations are buzzing with admiration and astonishment, fans are also comparing him to golf’s best.
A single tweet was all it took to light up the golf world. A reporter shared a side-by-side comparison of Scottie Scheffler’s run from 2022 to 2025 with Tiger Woods’ prime stretch between 2002 and 2005 and the numbers were surprisingly close.
Scheffler played a total of 81 events, out of which he won 20, including 4 majors and 2 Players Championship titles, with an impressive 2.8 strokes gained per round. During a similar period, Tiger Woods played 79 events, winning 18, which included 4 majors but no Players titles, and also maintained a 2.8 strokes gained average per round, though that stat only covers 2004 to 2005, according to Data Golf. But when reporter Kyle Porter shared these stats, putting Tiger and Scottie on equal footing, fans quickly lost their cool. Sure, Scheffler is doing great and breaking records like Woods but maybe he forget that Woods is a 15-time major winner. No wonder a clarification had to follow.
From 2002-2005, Tiger Woods finished in top-10 a whopping 52 times, excluding wins. His winning stats for this stretch were 17 events. In a similar fashion, from 2022 to 2025, Scottie Scheffler is reported to have achieved 57 top-10 finishes, excluding wins. His win tally stands at 17 PGA Tour events, not counting his Olympic win in 2024.
He admitted people had every right to be fired up and said he probably should’ve mentioned that Scottie’s numbers came against a tougher field than Tiger faced back in the day. Even though plenty of Tiger fans were curious and buzzing about the stat showdown, Porter knew that without pointing out the difference in competition, things could and did get a bit heated. While the reporter thinks Tiger’s field was not that tough during 2002-2005, Tiger’s loyal fans had a different point of view.
Golf World Rallies Behind Tiger as Scheffler Comparison Sparks Debate
One fan cheekily chimed in, “Half the top golfers went to LIV in year… 2022… hmm,” pointing out that several elite names had already exited the PGA Tour when Scottie’s run began. Big hitters like Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka, and Dustin Johnson were no longer in the regular mix, subtly suggesting that Scheffler’s competition might not have been as stacked as Tiger’s.
Some fans weren’t having the comparison at all, especially those who remember peak Tiger in all his glory. “You don’t want those Tiger 2000–2001 numbers involved,” one warned. Another followed up with, “Now do 1999–2002 instead,” hinting at a stretch that’s the stuff of golf legend. And they weren’t wrong; between 1999 and 2002, Tiger played 78 events and won a jaw-dropping 27 of them.
Another similar reaction by one fan added, “That is Scottie’s peak against Tiger’s valley,” that the comparison didn’t do justice; Scheffler’s prime was being measured against a period where Tiger was still great, but not exactly at his peak.
“Scottie is one hell of a golfer but has a long way to go before we can compare him to Tiger,” one fan wrote, reminding everyone where it all began. Tiger’s dominance kicked off in 1997, when he was just 22 years old and stormed to his first major win at the Masters. Scheffler, by comparison, was 26 when he claimed his first major, and it was also at Augusta. Both announced themselves in style, but Tiger did it younger and ignited an era that redefined golf.
