Is Scottie Scheffler the closest thing to a safe bet?

Scottie Scheffler’s one-stroke win over Collin Morikawa at the Memorial Tournament was the 27-year-old’s fifth win this season. 

Peerless 

The American becomes the first golfer to win as many times during a PGA Tour season since Justin Thomas claimed five wins in 2017. Even more tellingly is that Scheffler's five wins before the US Open means that he is the first golfer to achieve the feat since Tom Watson in 1980.

The triumph in Ohio also took Scheffler’s 2024 earnings to over $24 million; the most in the history of the PGA Tour for a single season.

Scottie Scheffler is taking home $4 million for winning The Memorial.

That means Scheffler has set a new single-season PGA Tour earnings record for the 3rd straight year.

2022: $14 million
2023: $21 million
2024: $24 million

Even crazier, there are 3 months left in the season. pic.twitter.com/jdPKERh4L7

— Joe Pompliano (@JoePompliano) June 9, 2024

With the season only at the halfway stage, Scheffler is expected to add to his five wins but not surpass the all-time record of 18 victories in a single season set by Byron Nelson in 1945. If that sounds high, it’s because it is - Nelson’s wins came at a time when most other players were fighting in the Second World War. 

Is Scheffler the best? 

While we are fortunate enough to live in peacetime now, there are parallels to be drawn with Scheffler in terms of benefiting from a weakened field after the advent of LIV Golf.

With a host of the world’s best players like Cameron Smith, Jon Rahm, and Brooks Koepka competing in the breakaway league, Scheffler has, at times, had the luxury of competing in tournaments where the best players in the world are not always present.

However, that argument only goes so far when you consider that Scheffler won The Masters this year which had LIV players in the field. Furthermore, the 27-year-old was on course to go back-to-back in the majors at the PGA Championship in May, only for an incident with the Louisville Metro Police Department to scupper his plans while he was en route to Valhalla Golf Club.

While it turned out to be a misunderstanding with no case to answer, the wider point is that Scheffler was poised to beat the best players in the world for a second major running and is rightfully ranked as the number one golfer on the planet. 

Will Scheffler win another major in 2024?

Ominously for every other tour player, the latest odds for the US Open and The Open indicate that the American is the favorite to win the final two majors of 2024. 

Big win. Big fist pump.

🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆 pic.twitter.com/Q6jydEACll

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 9, 2024

This is, at least, if we look at the betting lines provided by respected gambling firm LeoVegas, who specialize in sports wagering, online slots and are one of the best live dealer casinos in the industry. Here, the bookmaker with years of experience in pricing up eventualities, has listed Scheffler at just +275 to win the US Open and +400 to win The Open in July. 

The numbers don't lie 

With Scheffler having made 13 starts this season, his results coming into the year's biggest tournaments will give confidence to those looking to bet on him.

Indeed, Scheffler has won five times, come second twice, and finished in the top ten 12 times. In short, the evidence strongly suggests that the American will deliver again during the year’s final two majors, whether that involves winning or finishing in the top five or ten positions.

It has been a long time since golf bettors were given a reason to believe that a player might be as consistent as Tiger Woods in his prime. But that is Scheffler at the moment, the safest bet in 20 years.