Scottie Scheffler’s first-round struggles prove capability of world’s No. 1 golfer — despite lack of wins

Slow starts have hindered Scottie Scheffler early in the 2026 PGA Tour season. You know it. He knows it. The whole golf world knows it. Of course, “slow” and “hindered” are relative when it comes to what the world No. 1 is capable of accomplishing. 

Scheffler looked like a mid-handicapper for 50% of the Genesis Invitational yet still finished T12 alongside Jordan Spieth, a player who completed his best tournament finish since June 2025. This is not a drive-by on Spieth; it is an illustration that Scheffler’s performances are all about perspective.

Scheffler went to bed Thursday evening without another name below his on the leaderboard. He played his first 10 holes of the tournament in 5 over and was forced to make an 8-foot par putt on his 36th hole just to see hole No. 37 in a tournament where no one misses the cut. And still, he somehow threatened to extend his top 10 streak to 19 in a row … though he did ultimately fall short, ending the longest run on the PGA Tour.

Perspective!

Scheffler won in his season debut at the American Express, becoming the third player under the age of 30 to notch 20 PGA Tour victories and four major championships. The other two? Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus. Scheffler finished one stroke outside of a playoff at the WM Phoenix Open after opening with a 73 that put him 10 strokes behind his playing partner and eventual winner, Chris Gotterup.

A win would have been Scheffler’s third at that tournament — a mark that would have pulled him alongside none other than Arnold Palmer for most in the event’s history.

After opening with a 72 in benign conditions at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am, Scheffler closed with a 63 thanks to three final-round eagles, falling two strokes short of eventual champion Collin Morikawa. A win at Pebble Beach means something a little more. You look at the names. You look at that venue. You read through the history.

The same holds at Riviera Country Club, host of the Genesis Invitational, especially as it represents one of the three biggest non-major tournaments on the PGA Tour schedule. The signature events reign these days, but there are three tournaments with lasting power, no matter how the PGA Tour calendar might change.

Tiger’s tournament.

Arnie’s tournament.

Jack’s tournament.

Combined, they make up the PGA Tour’s big three player-hosted invitationals that, despite being labeled signature events, still have cuts at the 36-hole mark. Should they chop off more than those who finish outside the top 50 and more than 10 strokes behind the leader, especially when a field is only 72 players? Yes, but that is a conversation for a different day.

Winning one is amazing. Just ask last week’s champion, Jacob Bridgeman. Winning two, now that is something really special. Many of the all-time greats have done just that. But winning all three on those golf courses? That is as rare as it gets when it comes to PGA Tour accolades, as only Fred Couples and Ernie Els have conquered the triumvirate (Hale Irwin won the 1976 Citrus Open at Rio Pinar Country Club, later called the Arnold Palmer Invitational).

Players to win at least two of the big three

There are stipulations to all of the names listed above — blame the PGA Tour’s record keeping — as Els, of course, did not receive a trophy from Woods. In fact, he was making sure he was not winning one as the Big Easy’s title came at the expense of Woods, who finished two strokes behind the South African — the closest he ever came to winning at Riviera. Irwin’s win at the Citrus Open came before Palmer began hosting the event at Bay Hill.

“Here and Memorial — I think the player-hosted invitationals are becoming increasingly important in the PGA Tour schedule,” Rory McIlroy said last week. “I have been lucky enough to win at Bay Hill, but Arnold wasn’t around when I did it. It would be really cool to get a trophy from Tiger and get a trophy from Jack at some point. [Riviera] and Muirfield are two ones that I would love to check off.”

Scheffler has already won twice at Arnie’s and Jack’s tournaments, but Tiger’s continues to elude him. It is not unfair to suggest this year might have been it had he not started so poorly. Scheffler played his final 62 holes in 16 under, while Bridgeman won the tournament at 18 under. Over the last three rounds, Scheffler clipped the winner by a shot.

While these rough starts have put Scheffler in holes, they have allowed us to see his true competitive grit. That no-quit attitude is reminiscent of a boxer who has taken punch after punch to the point that he can’t see out of one eye, but he still manages to stay on his feet and go another round.

Scheffler remains the favorite at all four major championships: 3-1 at the Masters, 19/5 at the PGA Championship, 16/5 at the U.S. Open and 5-1 at The Open, per FanDuel.

The comebacks have been impressive and fun to watch. They have shown us what Scheffler is capable of achieving, even when he’s stuck deep in the chasing pack. In another sense, they have shown us what else he can do, as we already knew the Texan can win when he’s well out in front.