Scottie Scheffler calls Tiger Woods debate 'a bit silly' after matching 1,197 day feat

Scottie Scheffler claimed comparisons with him and Tiger Woods were "a bit silly" after he claimed his fourth Major by winning the Open in dominant fashion at Royal Portrush.

A stellar round on Friday had put the American in pole position to win the Claret Jug and he made no mistake over the weekend, eventually winning by four shots. He finished on -17 with his eight under round 64 on the second day seeing him pull away from the field, who couldn't catch him.

Scheffler's first Open title also compliments the two Masters he's won as well as the PGA Championship he landed earlier this year, further cementing his status as the world's best player.

The American's triumph at Royal Portrush also prompted numerous comparisons with Woods. Incredibly the gap between their first and fourth majors is the exact same time period, to the day. Woods first major win at the Masters in 1997 and his fourth major at the Open in 2000 were 1,197 days apart.

That is the same time separating Scheffler's Masters win in 2022 and his Open success just over three years later. Despite that though the Claret Jug winner was dismissing the notion that he could emulate the 15-time Major winner.

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He said: “I still think they're (the comparisons) a bit silly. Tiger won, what, 15 majors? This is my fourth. I just got one-fourth of the way there. I think Tiger stands alone in the game of golf. He was inspirational for me growing up. He was a very, very talented guy, and he was a special person to be able to be as good as he was at the game of golf.”

Woods still competes in Majors but hasn't claimed one since he won the Masters in 2019 and few expect him to add to his haul. Not since he was at his peak has the golfing world seen such dominance before Scheffler's recent rise.

Last year's Open winner Xander Schauffele, who finished seven shots off Scheffler, admits they thought the days of Woods-type domination were over but his fellow American is now replicating it.

He said: “I don’t think we thought the golfing world would see someone as dominant as Tiger [Woods] come through so soon, and here’s Scottie sort of taking that throne of dominance. You can’t even say he’s on a run. He’s just been killing it for over two years now. He’s a tough man to beat, and when you see his name up on the leaderboard it sucks for us.”

Scheffler had made headlines before the tournament began on Thursday where he opened up on a personal struggle when it came to motivation, claiming that golf was "not a fulfilling life." Despite being one tournament away from the Career Slam he asked: "Why do I want to win this golf tournament so badly? Why do I want to win the Open Championship so badly? I don't know because, if I win, it's going to be awesome for two minutes."