After dominating the 2023 and 2024 seasons, Scottie Scheffler was not just the best golfer of this past year, but he is on the verge of making history. With the 2025 Players Championship approaching, Scheffler has a chance to do something rare in the world of golf, win three consecutive titles at one of the sport’s most prestigious events. Can he maintain his dominance and secure another victory, or will a newer, younger star rise to the challenge?
Scottie won the 2023 Players comfortably by five strokes over Tyrrell Hatton. “I got hot in the middle of the round and tried to put things away as quickly as I could,” Scheffler said. “Gosh, it’s fun (Theplayers.com).” Scottie had five straight birdies in the middle of his round, built a six shot lead and never looked back on his way to a three under 69 to win the biggest prize on the PGA Tour by five shots. He earned $4.5 million and got put back to number one in the world for the second time that year.
Scottie also won in 2024, but it did not come as easily as it had the year before. At the 2024 Players Championship, Scottie Scheffler entered the final round on Sunday, March 17, in sixth place, trailing the leader, Xander Schauffele, by five strokes. Scottie started with three pars then started to heat up, holing out from 92 yards for an eagle on the par-four fourth. Followed by birdies on holes five, eight, and nine and finishing with a five under, 31 on the front nine. Scheffler birdied three more holes on the back nine and finished with an eight under, 64. Scheffler won by one stroke after Wyndam Clark lipped out his birdie putt that would take him and Scottie into a playoff. The PGA Tour’s website said, “Already the best in the world, Scottie Scheffler added another layer to his legend Sunday. He became the first player to win back-to-back in 50 years of The Players Championship by matching the biggest comeback and the lowest closing round by a winner.”
The Players Championship is called golf’s “fifth major” because of the attention it draws. That means it is being compared to some of the most prestigious tournaments, such as The Masters, The U.S. Open, The Open Championship, and The PGA Championship. The biggest names in modern golf like McIlroy, Rahm, Speith, and Scheffler come out to compete in The Players Tournament every year. The Players takes place at the stadium course at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. The 17th island green par three is one of the most famous holes in golf, destroying many rounds, the most disastrous being Sergio Garcia in 2013. Sergio was tied for the lead with and trying to take down Tiger Woods, but got too aggressive, hitting three balls into the water on 17 and finished tied for eighth.
Scottie Scheffler has already made history at The Players, but can he now win a third in a row, a three-peat? He is the favorite to win according to CBS Sports. In the 50 years since The Players started, only Scottie Scheffler has gone back to back, now Scheffler has a chance to win his third in a row, something that might never happen again.
