Scheffler inspired by Tiger Woods' passion to improve as he looks to 2026
Scottie Scheffler hits his tee shot on the 16th hole during the third round of the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow Club on Saturday, May 17, 2025 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/PGA of America)
Rory McIlroy winds up an unforgettable 2025 at the Crown Australian Open with another win on his mind and future major wins in his plans.
But it’s clear it won’t be easy to add to his five-major haul in 2026 as world number one Scottie Scheffler— his main rival for this year’s PGA Tour Player of the Year award—continues his quest for even more consistency at Tiger Woods’ Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas.
Twelve months ago, Scheffler trialled the claw putting grip for close-range putts and successfully defended his title at Albany, where he has never finished outside the top two in four appearances.
As a result of the grip change and a return to a mallet-style putter, he went from 77th for strokes gained putting to 22nd and counted the PGA Championship and The Open among his six wins this year.
Improving on that level of performance will be a challenge for a player who finished the regular season ranked first in no fewer than 28 statistical categories
This week, he’s trialling a new driver, which is ominous considering he was second only to Pierceson Coody for total driving this year.
His incredible consistency in all departments of the game has prompted comparisons with peak Tiger and while he admits that’s a source of pride for him this year, it’s Woods’ drive to get better every year that he’d love to emulate.
“I would say Tiger, when he was in the field, I think he was a guy that would always give himself a chance to win, and there was very few spurts throughout his career when he wasn't the best player in the world,” Scheffler said last night.
“I would say that the one thing I admired about him, he always had the ability to hit many types of shots and was always working extremely hard on his game.
“He was never complacent or satisfied with where he was at with his game, kind of always kept working, I've admired that about him.”
As for McIlroy, who began his quest for second Australian Open win in the small hours at Royal Melbourne, he’s focussed now on adding to his legacy after winning the Masters to complete the career Grand Slam this year.
“I want to win more majors. I want to be part of more Ryder Cup teams,” he said at Royal Melbourne. “I’d say my records on either tour, whether it be the DP World Tour or PGA Tour, are probably meaning a little less to me as time moves on.
“It’s really just focusing on the majors and being a part of that Ryder Cup team and trying to build on the legacy I’ve built over the last 15 years.”
Meanwhile, Lauren Walsh will be looking to cap a memorable season by winning her card at the Final Qualifying Stage of the LPGA Q-Series in Alabama.
The Castlewarden star (25) tees it up with Mariel Galdiano and LET Order of Merit winner Shannon Tan of Singapore on the Falls Course at RTJ at Magnolia Grove in Mobile.
She will play two rounds at both the Falls and Crossings courses before the field is cut to the top 65 after 72 holes.
After missing the 72-hole cut last year, she is aiming to finish among the top 25 and ties after five rounds who will be awarded LPGA cards
While she failed to get through the earlier qualifying stage in Florida, she automatically clinched a second bite of the cherry this week after finishing a career-best 10th in the LET Order of Merit on Sunday.
Tom McKibbin, meanwhile, tees it up in the Nedbank Golf Challenge at Gary Player Country Club in Sun City, where he is joined by Viktor Hovland, Marco Penge and the new Sir Henry Cotton Rookie Of the Year, Martin Couvra.
