A Season of ‘Almost’ for Scottie

Following a rain delay yesterday, Viktor Hovland won The Travelers Championship this morning in a playoff against World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler. It was Hovland’s first win in over a year, but the story of the week (besides the fans – which I will write about soon) was that this week was just another “almost” for Scottie.

Scottie Scheffler has been the world’s best player for 158 consecutive weeks – more than three straight years. In that time, he has won 14 PGA TOUR events, including three major championships, four Signature Events, and two playoff events. That span is better than most players’ careers ten times over. But for as great as he has been, this year has been the one of “almost.”

Scottie opened his season in the Coachella Valley, winning The American Express by four shots, and it seemed like he would be off to the races. However, that has not been the case. Since his win in January, Scottie has finished runner-up four times, with two losses in playoffs, and a second place at the Masters, and has finished in the top-25 in all 13 of his starts.

These numbers only paint part of the picture. His T3 at the WM Phoenix Open was just one shot out of a playoff. He was quite literally an inch away from forcing a playoff against Rory McIlroy at the Masters, missing the cup by a fingernail at 17 on Sunday. He lost in a playoff at Harbour Town the following week at the RBC Heritage. And this past week, a cruel lip out on 17 at the Travelers cost him a victory.

Unlike most players, he doesn’t get upset – except about the wind – he takes it in stride and moves on to the next. He has been there every week, knocking on the door, and it feels like the dam might break soon, and then no one will catch him. Show this year’s finish to an above-average TOUR pro before the season, 99/100 are taking it, but it’s not up to Scottie’s standard. Without another win, this year will be remembered as the one of “almost,” although I don’t think we’ll have to worry about that for too much longer.