Scottie Scheffler shares straightforward feelings on nearing Tiger Woods' exclusive ranking record

Scottie Scheffler is nearing Tiger Woods' exclusive ranking record. The World No.1 has held the top ranking for 95 weeks now. He'll surpass Greg Norman's 96-week streak in 10 days, making him the longest-reigning No. 1 golfer outside of Tiger Woods.

In a pre-tournament press conference at the Players Championship 2025, Scheffler was asked about nearing Tiger Woods' record of 281 weeks. He was also asked about the biggest challenge of not just reaching World No.1 but staying as World No.1. Scheffler remains characteristically unfazed as he said:

"I mean, it's like what's harder, playing in the lead or playing from behind? I mean golf is hard. I think it's a challenging game. But like I said, every time you go out and play, you're almost looking in a mirror. You're trying to manage your emotions, manage your skill set, manage your way around the golf course."

Greg Norman's reign as World No. 1 started from June 18, 1995, to April 19, 1997, i.e., 671 days or 96 weeks. Scottie Scheffler's current consecutive reign as World No. 1 started on May 21, 2023. However, he said that being No. 1 didn't give him any extra perk.

"I don't think about being No. 1. I didn't go out to the range today feeling like the best player in the world. I showed up feeling like myself, and I went out to try and prepare to play in the golf tournament. Being No. 1 doesn't give you any starting strokes unless we're talking about East Lake," he added.

However, he acknowledged that reaching the milestone would be a nice accolade, but said it won't have any significance in the upcoming events. Overall, Scottie Scheffler has been World No. 1 for 130 weeks. He's fourth in all-time total weeks at World No. 1.

Tiger Woods has been No. 1 for a record 683 weeks. He's followed by Greg Norman (331 weeks) and Dustin Johnson (135 weeks) on the all-time list.

---

Scottie Scheffler reflects on winning the Players Championship 2024

Scottie Scheffler had seven wins on the PGA Tour last year including winning at the Players Championship 2024. He won the tournament by one stroke over Brian Harman, Xander Schauffele and Wyndham Clark.

In the press conference, he was asked to rank his performance on Sunday last year compared to his best form in major moments. He said:

"I would say last year this whole tournament was one of the best performances I've had in my career, for sure. I think the way I played injured Friday and Saturday to just keep myself in the tournament took a lot of fight, a lot of heart. Definitely did not play golf the way I normally would, but I was so comfortable with my swing at the time that I was able to chip it around and play weird shots and somehow make pars and make some key birdies when I needed to."

Scheffler recalled birdieing the last three holes on Saturday to give himself an outside chance. However, a strong start on the front nine in the final round helped him get near the lead. Scheffler also won the tournament in 2023 with a margin of five strokes over Tyrrell Hatton.