Good morning, I’m Tyler Lauletta. Dan Gartland is out pinch-hitting for the Savannah Bananas for a few days, so I’m pinch-hitting for him here. I will not be dancing.
In today’s SI:AM:
🏉MMQB’s All-Quarter Century Team
Scottie Scheffler Makes It Look Easy
Golf is hard. This is obvious to anyone who has ever played the sport, to those who have watched the sport obsessively and even to most who have watched with a passing interest.
But Scottie Scheffler is making it look easy.
Over the weekend, Scheffler won his first British Open championship. It’s the second major win of his season and the fourth of his career. He has not yet turned 30 years old.
Since the peak years of Tiger Woods in the early aughts, the sport of golf has been on the lookout for the next Tiger. There were hopefuls: Dustin Johnson felt like he might be the man for a moment, Rory McIlroy got about as close as anyone could for a stretch and Jon Rahm teased his dominance before jumping over to LIV.
But Scheffler has proved over the past few years that his claim to the throne, which once felt like it may be left forever vacant, is certainly alive.
As golf statistic extraordinaire Justin Ray noted on Twitter, the list of golfers to lift the trophy at the Masters, PGA Championship and British Open before the age of 30 since literally World War II is just four players long, and they all only need one name: Tiger, Player, Jack and now Scottie.
And Scheffler is not just winning these big tournaments—he is dominating. Again, per Ray, he’s the first player of the modern era to win his first four majors by at least three strokes.
Is Scheffler on the Tiger trajectory yet? It’s a complicated question. It’s very easy to start giving out hypothetical majors in the moment. But right now, he is on the pace that Rory was early in his career, and if he wins one more major over the next decade or so, he’ll be ahead in their race.
Amazing graphic here. Wow. pic.twitter.com/HxujDKnPCO
— Kyle Porter (@KylePorterNS) July 20, 2025
McIlroy was quick to praise Scheffler for his run of play.
“In a historical context, you could argue that there's only maybe two or three players in the history of the game that have been on a run (like) the one that Scottie's been on here for the last 24 to 36 months,” McIlroy said Sunday. “Incredibly impressive. He's a very worthy winner. Also, he's a great person, and I think he's a wonderful ambassador for our game.”
Scheffler started out the weekend by reminding everyone in the sport that golf was not his life—was not where he found his fulfillment. He ended it the same way, albeit this time with a new trophy in his case.
Measuring fame by Chipotle.pic.twitter.com/oRlUrDKpZ2
— Andrew Siciliano (@AndrewSiciliano) July 21, 2025
Scheffler now stands just one U.S. Open shy of a career Grand Slam. On the Monday after his fourth major win, it feels like it’s just a matter of time. As McIlroy showed us this year, that matter of time can be quite long, and as Phil Mickelson’s career showed, sometimes it just doesn’t come.
But if Scheffler can lift a U.S. Open trophy before its absence becomes an albatross hanging over his career, then the Tiger conversations may begin in earnest rather than in theory.
Golf is, by design, not built for dynasties. Too many questions are asked, too many other competitors are staking a claim to the same throne. Winning a golf tournament is often a war of attrition—which of these 70–120 golfers can hold on to their game and their sanity the best over a four-day span?
Even the title of “World No. 1” can feel exaggerated, if not dubious. It’s less a marker of who is the best at golf and more of a designation of who has made the fewest mistakes over the past few months.
Today, that title has a rightful holder. Scheffler is the best golfer on the planet, and he’s making it look easy.
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The top five…
… sports things I saw over the weekend.
5. Man, Pablo Torre really is finding out.
4. Klay Thompson refusing to miss during practice is mesmerizing.
3. Caitlin Clark vs. Kelsey Plum: a quality budding rivalry.
2. This throw from Ronald Acuña Jr. is up there with the best I have ever seen.
1. In a season full of incredible talent, Tarik Skubal is this year’s must-watch player. He’s appointment viewing every time he is on the mound.… sports things I saw over the weekend.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as SI:AM | Scottie Scheffler Is Making This Look Easy.
