All The Masters Parallels Between Scottie Scheffler and Tiger Woods

Now that the former Texas golfer has a green jacket, he and the five-time champion have plenty in common

Scottie Scheffler’s first Masters victory came 25 years after Tiger Woods won his first Masters title in 1997.

The parallels with Woods do not end there.

Scheffler’s three-shot victory allowed him to claim his first major title. When Woods won the 1997 Masters title, it was also his first major championship.

Scheffler won his first Masters in his third start at Augusta National. So did Woods, albeit they made those starts a bit differently.

Scheffler made all three of his starts as a pro, starting in 2020, when he finished in a tie for 19th. He then finished in a tie for 18th last year.

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Scottie Scheffler

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Scottie Scheffler

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Scottie Scheffler

Woods made his first two starts as an amateur. He tied for 41st and was the low amateur in 1995, and then missed the cut in 1996. He then won the event in his first Masters as a professional.

Scheffler and Woods also made the Masters their fourth victory as a professional. Again, they got there a bit differently.

Scheffler has won four of his last six starts, the first player to do that since Jason Day did it in 2015. Scheffler won the Phoenix Open on Super Bowl Sunday, followed by wins at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and the WGC-Match Play.

Woods collected his first three wins as a professional in the 1996 Las Vegas Invitational, the 1996 Walt Disney World/Oldsmobile Classic and the 1997 Mercedes Championship.

That gives Scheffler a leg up on Woods. Scheffler is the quickest player in history to win the Masters after his first PGA Tour victory.

But Woods does have a leg up on Scheffler in an odd way, and not because Woods has 15 career major titles. When Woods won his 1997 Masters, he did so by 12 shots. The runner-up? Former Texas golfer Tom Kite, who along with Gene Littler shares the record for the most Masters starts without a win.

Scheffler also became the third Texas Longhorn to win the Masters. Jordan Spieth did it in 2015 and Ben Crenshaw won twice, in 1984 and 1995. On the 50th anniversary of Crenshaw’s first finish as low amateur at Augusta, Scheffler won the title.

Finally, Scheffler entered the Masters as the world’s top-ranked player, and became the first player to make the Masters his first win after becoming the world’s No. 1 player since Ian Woosnam did it in 1991. He is also the fifth player to win the Masters as the world’s No. 1 player, joining Fred Couples, Woods and Dustin Johnson.

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Scottie Scheffler

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Scottie Scheffler

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Scottie Scheffler

You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.

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