Scottie is gonna be a problem.
Hopefully Aberg stays on top of his game and challenges him the next few years. I’m not sure who else in golf right now can match Scottie.
Rory is cooked. JT and Jordan are well past their windows. Hovland is lost. Rahm and Brooks didn’t show up.
What is bizarre/amazing is that he really didn’t play all that well. Out of his last 4 tournaments, I’d argue he played this one the worst… and still he just took on the field. If he could putt, he’d win 2 or 3 majors this year easily. He just waited everyone out for a few days and when they made mistakes, he stepped on their throat. It looks like an amazing finish was in store at the start of amen corner… and by 12 it was over. Legit impressive.
I think Rory will get another, but I can’t see it at Augusta. Brooks only seems to have it for ~10-12 rounds a year now, he’s just gotta get them lined up on a major weekend. I don’t know what Hovland did this winter, but he’s gotta stop.
Rahm severely disappointed me this week… I was hoping he’d show well, but since his move it feels like off the course is just getting to him and he’s not able to separate.
Right now though… it really feels close to the Tiger era. Where there are players who can beat Scottie, but they have to play perfect and Scottie has to stumble a bit. If he’s on, he’s winning. If they stumble at all, he’s winning.
We will see about that. There was a phase when Spieth looked above the fray every time he teed off and then it was Brooks scared the field in any major. Guys can be dominant for 18-24 months and then someone comes along and seems to knock them off their game and it becomes a lot more balanced. I doubt this will continue on much longer.
What would really be insane is if LIV put up like 500m or whatever it takes to get him. That would absolutely wreck the PGA.
Scottie has already been dominant for 24+ months. He’s won 2 of the last 9 majors. Had 3 other top 5s and a top 10. He has 9 wins since the start of 22. His margin on the golf rankings between #1 and #2 is the most since Tiger.
The lone nemesis of his is The Open… and he still has a top 10 finish in that event.
In Speith’s prime, he was still very erratic. Just a ton of wild, hold on to your butt moments. It is good to have his bag of tricks, but relying on them is not for long term success.
I think the closest to Scottie’s recent run is probably early Rory… and even then Scottie just has been a machine since we flipped into 2022. He’s been ranked one or two for two years now and been 1 for over 80 weeks in that span. He’d have to fall into some really bad performances to fall from #1 before he passes Faldo for 5th all time.