The statistical divergence of Tiger Woods and Scottie Scheffler

Woods’ 2000 Pebble Beach dominance

Tiger Woods won the 2000 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach by a 15-stroke margin, setting a performance standard for major championships. This victory marked his third major title. During the third round, Woods hit the deep rough on the third hole and carded a triple bogey-7. He recovered to finish the tournament with a 15-stroke lead over runner-up Ernie Els. He also became the youngest golfer to achieve the career Grand Slam at age 24. Woods finished the 2000 season with nine PGA Tour wins and 17 top-five finishes in 20 starts. His scoring average of 68.17 broke the tour record. At St Andrews for the Open Championship, he hit a fairway wood from over 270 yards on the 14th hole to reach the green in two. In 2000, Woods earned $800,000 for his U.S. Open victory. Ernie Els finished runner-up to Woods four times in 2000 by a combined 28 shots. Woods also won the 1997 Masters, which carried a $2.7 million purse, where he earned $486,000 and became the tournament’s youngest winner at age 21.

Scheffler’s record-breaking earnings and rankings

Scottie Scheffler surpassed Tiger Woods as the PGA Tour all-time career earnings leader after winning the Tour Championship at East Lake Country Club. This win earned Scheffler a $10 million check from a $40 million purse. Scheffler, aged 30, surpasses Woods, aged 50, in career earnings, holding $130,390,661 to Woods’ $120,999,166. Scheffler also smashed the record for most Official World Golf Ranking points earned in the first six months of a season.

Scheffler holds an average of 20.25 ranking points per tournament over a two-year period. This figure approaches the peak of 21 points Woods reached in 2008. You should observe how much larger modern purses have become compared to the 1990s. Woods earned $297,000 for his first career win in 1996, while Scheffler earned $1.467 million for the 2022 WM Phoenix Open. Rory McIlroy holds third place with more than $117 million in career earnings. Scheffler entered the BMW Championship in St. Louis with $119,964,411 in career earnings, which left him just $608,505 behind Woods after he finished T12 while battling hand, foot and mouth disease. Scheffler won the FedEx St. Jude Championship on August 16 by eight shots.

Legal resolution and current status

Jefferson County Attorney Mike O’Connell dropped all charges against Scottie Scheffler with prejudice, meaning no further evidence can be brought forward. The legal case stemmed from a chaotic situation at Valhalla involving a traffic misunderstanding and a police officer, Detective Bryan Gillis. Scheffler faced charges including second degree assault of a police officer, third degree criminal mischief, reckless driving, and disregarding traffic signals. His attorney, Steve Romines, stated that eyewitnesses confirmed Scheffler did not assault any officer with his vehicle during the chaos. Scheffler claimed he followed instructions from a different officer during the confusion. The charges followed an incident where the police report alleged that Scheffler dragged Detective Gillis, causing lacerations to the officer’s knee and wrist, even though video footage failed to show the officer being dragged. The incident occurred in the early hours of the morning before his tee time. Scheffler stated the situation was a "big misunderstanding". The original police report claimed the vehicle damaged an officer’s pants beyond repair. Scheffler shot a 66 in his second round at the PGA Championship. He finished the tournament in a tie for sixth place following the investigation. Does the dismissal of these charges change how the field views his dominance?