Ahead of last summer’s Open Championship, Scottie Scheffler gave an existential dissertation on life as the world’s best golfer. It was then that Scheffler spoke about the “fleeting” feeling of satisfaction that comes with winning and how his family and faith fulfill the deepest desires of his soul, rather than being the best player in the world.
Five days later, Scheffler romped to a win at Royal Portrush and talked about how “grateful” he was to win the title and how much he would enjoy the victory while noting that the show of professional golf never stops, the hamster wheel keeps turning, and he would be expected to win at his next stop despite his new place in history as an Open champion.
Scheffler’s revelation came in the midst of a torrid 2025 run that saw him win six times, including two majors, while further tightening his stranglehold on the professional golf world. But almost a year later, a different part of Scheffler’s speech rings louder.
“It sucks. I hate it. I really do,” Scheffler said of losing. “That’s why we try to work so hard to not lose, but golf’s a game where you just lose a lot more often than you win. That’s just a simple part of it. In basketball or football, when there’s only two [teams] out there, you can win a lot more than you lose.”
Scheffler then alluded to tennis great Roger Federer’s commencement speech at Dartmouth, in which he talked about being great in a sport where losses far outnumber wins. Federer, who won 103 ATP titles and 20 majors, told students he won only 54 percent of all the points during his career.
“You can work harder than you thought possible and still lose,” Federer said. “Perfection is impossible.”
That’s a hard truth Scheffler has always known, and one he’s experiencing in full in 2026. The latest reminder came Monday at the Travelers Championship, when Scheffler lost a playoff to Viktor Hovland on the first hole after missing a short putt to extend. The Shotlink data initially had Scheffler’s birdie attempt inside 3 feet. It was later amended to just outside 4 feet. It’s one Scheffler should make. One he usually made in 2025, when he played in the final group five times and won all five tournaments. In 2026, Scheffler has now played in six final groups and won only one of those times — the American Express to start the season.
Since that victory in Palm Springs, Scheffler’s season has been defined by slow starts, near-misses and being beaten by guys in full flight.
“That was some of the best I hit it all season, which is a good spot,” Scheffler said on Monday after his loss to Hovland. “Obviously, I think just a little bit, a little disappointed with the results of today.”
Losses are all relative, and most players would be thrilled with a season that includes a win, four runner-up finishes, eight top-fives and nothing worse than a T24. He has nine top-10 finishes in 14 starts. For most, that would constitute a career-changing season. But Scheffler has reached a level of dominance where everything is viewed through a binary lens: win or lose. At least from those on the outside. As Scheffler explained while slogging through a disappointing Players Championship, he judges himself not on a weekly scale, but on a shot-by-shot basis. Was the process good? Did he execute? Is the feeling correct? If the answer is yes, Scottie Scheffler lives with the results. If the answer is no, he gets back to work, solidifying the foundation he’s built — one that’s based on process, feel and control. On the micro, not the macro.
Get all of that right, and you put yourself in position to win more than you lose. But there will be losses; the recipe isn’t exact, no matter the chef.
Tiger Woods won only once in 1999 and 2004. He went two years and four months without a win between 2009 and 2011. Rory McIlroy once went 18 months without a victory. Last year, Nelly Korda went winless after winning seven times in 2024. She chalked it up to being on the wrong side of golf’s “fine line.” All are judged on the same scale as Scheffler. It’s win or “what’s wrong?”
Scheffler has now gone almost five months since his last victory. It’s a blip in the long arch of a career still on the ascent, but one that has presented Scheffler with conundrums he’s still trying to solve.
A week ago, after failing to run down Wyndham Clark at the U.S. Open, Scheffler bemoaned another week that had him chasing on both days of the weekend.
“At the end of the day, I don’t know exactly what it is,” Scheffler said at Shinnecock Hills. “I’ve been pretty good in first rounds over the last few years, and for some reason, the sharpness just hasn’t been there early in tournaments. I haven’t had those leads that I’ve needed in order to win tournaments. I’ve been playing catch-up all year.
“I guess that’s maybe kind of the story, but albeit, this was another week where I feel like I’m continuing to improve.”
The slow starts have been an issue for Scheffler. But he has also constantly run into players on a heater. Cameron Young blew out the field at the Cadillac, where Scheffler finished second. He lost to McIlroy at the Masters but spotted him a six-shot lead heading into the weekend. He lost to Matt Fitzpatrick in a playoff at the RBC Heritage, where Fitzpatrick hit a piercing 4-iron through howling wind to set up a winning birdie. At the CJ Cup Byron Nelson, Clark hit the gas and shot a final-round 60 to win the title. Last year, Scheffler would’ve been able to fend off even those playing at their peak. But this year, his ruthlessly precise game has been just a tick off.
He’s still been the best player on the planet this season — first in Strokes Gained: Total (2.249), third in SG: Off the Tee (0.665) and eighth in SG: Approach (0.601). But his approach numbers are 0.69 shots worse than last year, which has led to a dip in his overall putting, as my colleague Jack Hirsch noted on X. Combine that with some uncharacteristic poor first rounds and opponents playing outstanding golf (Clark, Young, Fitzpatrick) and you get a recipe for a year that has seen Scheffler face a different Tour reality.
“If you looked statistically, I’m probably not much different than I have been the past couple of years, just a few shots here and there,” Scheffler said after losing to Clark at the Byron Nelson. “A couple things go my way in some tournaments. This season looks a bit differently, but I’ve been playing some solid golf. Just keep putting myself in position, and things will turn my way.”
Things seemed to be turning Scheffler’s way last week at TPC River Highlands. He entered the weekend with the lead for the first time this season and had a two-shot edge on Hovland with six holes to go on Sunday. Then came a rain delay and three straight birdies from Hovland to tie Scheffler. The World No. 1 made clutch par putts in the dark on Sunday night, including an 8-footer on 18 to send the Travelers to a Monday playoff.
All week it felt like Scheffler would leave Cromwell, Conn., with his second win — one that would dramatically alter the narrative around his season. All that stood in his way was a Monday playoff with Hovland, who had gone more than a year since his last win while tinkering with his swing. But the duel lasted just 13 minutes, and Scheffler’s missed 4-foot birdie attempt led to another frustrating loss in a season on pro golf’s “fine line” and a further reminder of something Scheffler has long known — the one he alluded to last summer in Northern Ireland.
Whether your name is Tiger, Rory, Scottie or Nelly: It’s hard to win in pro golf.
“>
