NEWS FROM THE TOUR VANS
BROUGHT TO YOU BY GOLF PRIDE, THE #1 GRIP ON TOUR
For all the comparisons of generational No. 1s being thrown about, it’s kind of astonishing that Scottie Scheffler has played only one career round with Tiger Woods.
As fate would have it, that one round with the undisputed greatest player of his generation proved pretty pivotal in the development of Scheffler into the world’s undisputed No. 1 player of this generation.
As intersections of fate go, their brief overlap was as quiet as it gets – the final round of the 2020 “COVID Masters” played in November in front of no fans. With diminished daylight in autumn, groups were sent out Sunday in threesomes. Woods, the reigning Masters champion, and Shane Lowry, the reigning Open champion, were joined by Scheffler, who was making his Masters debut.
Scheffler, then 24, witnessed the worst hole of Tiger’s storied Masters career – a 10 on the par-3 12th hole. While most golfers might sulk and want to hide – even with no fans watching – after that, Tiger simply birdied five of the last six holes.
“He hit some of the best iron shots I think I’ve ever seen, still to this day,” Scheffler said of that COVID-Masters Sunday in Bob Harig’s book “Drive: The Lasting Legacy of Tiger Woods.”
“It was really cool for me to see him just kind of flip the switch. He hit one really nice shot into 13 and all of a sudden it’s game on. I knew he was frustrated. I didn’t know him well enough at the time to kind of rib him about it.
“I was actually joking with him [at a tournament in 2022] about that round. And he was like, ‘Yeah that really pissed me off.’ No. 12. That’s one of those special things that makes Tiger, Tiger. A lot of guys would have thrown in the towel there for sure.”
Scheffler in 2025 ranks No. 1 on tour in four strokes gained categories – total, off the tee, tee to green and approach. He’s become one of the world’s best putters, ranking 16th in strokes gained putting when it was his only weakness two years ago. When he misfires, he ranks second on tour in scrambling. He is unrivaled in bouncing back from mistakes (leading that category as well).
These were all the kinds of things Tiger did when he was at his peak powers.
But beyond mindset and philosophy, there is a more tangible and enduring element to Scheffler’s success that came from his one shared round with Woods – the TaylorMade P7TW (yes, that TW) irons Scheffler still uses.
“I watched the way Tiger struck and shaped the ball when I played with him at the Masters in 2020, and that was all I needed to see to want to try them,” Scheffler said of TaylorMade’s Woods-designed irons.
Since switching to the P7TW irons, Scheffler has led the PGA Tour in strokes gained approach three of the last four seasons and used those irons in every one of his 18 tour victories including four majors.
Scheffler is meticulous about process, and his weekly routine with TaylorMade senior tour manager Adrian Rietveld in the Tour Truck at tournament sites ensures his irons are always in tip-top shape. It’s to the point that Rietveld knows by heart Scheffler’s specs on every club – with a four-degree incremental change in loft angle and half a degree in lie angle with each iron.
“Every week without fail, Scottie Scheffler gives me his bag, and I check through every single detail,” Rietveld told PGATour.com, noting that Scheffler’s current irons have been shortened an inch and bent a degree more upright to offset the change in shaft length and weight.
“On each tournament week, when I get his clubs, I know to check the spec, and I’m looking at the overall club, making sure that it’s still in good shape. And then I will just check his loft and lie.”
Scott Michaux