Question of the week [September 2-8]: By winning the Tour Championship, Scottie Scheffler became the first player to win seven times on the PGA Tour since Tiger Woods in 2007. Was Scheffler's feat diminished by the the absence of Jon Rahm, Brooks Koepka and other top LIV Golf players?
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Scottie Scheffler's accomplishment is not diminished by the fact that Jon Rahm, Brooks Koepka and other top LIV players were not in the fields of his wins. Certainly, any one of those players might have won one of the events that Scottie won, but there is no certainty in that. Those guys don't win every time they go out. Winning on the PGA Tour is very difficult, so there doesn't need to be an asterisk on Scheffler's seven-win season. He won against the fields he was presented with. That's all he can do.
John Abercrombie
Cape Girardeau, Missouri
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I would say no, Scottie Scheffler's accomplishments remain as incredible as ever, regardless of the LIV players' absence. Just as Byron Nelson's 11 straight win in 1945 remain solid, even though the war may have taken some of the field out of competition.
Craig Libhart
Bainbridge, Pennsylvania
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If "ifs and buts were candy and nuts" ... when the GOAT, Tiger Woods, reeled off streaks in his early career, there were questions because Jack Nicklaus, Lee Trevino, Seve Ballesteros, Gary Player, Payne Stewart and Arnold Palmer had moved on by Y2K.
However, Woods proved to be a Haley’s Comet. Therefore I embrace the moment and don't believe Scottie's accomplishments are diminished because of the LIV movement. Would Byron Nelson have been Iron if others (including Ben Hogan) were not off serving in WWII? And what could’ve been for Hogan had The Hawk not had the near fatal car crash?
The hugely talented Jon Rahm and Brooks Koepka, plus Bryson DeChambeau, chose to mute this question when they left for LIV. Maybe Rahm could've made a case, but then Scottie doesn't allow a temper to get in his way. Koepka has had injuries and really only cared about majors while here. Could he have kept up with Scottie's schedule?
Xander Schauffle, who is on a future Hall of Fame inductee arc, also had a legacy year and I believe that he remains the greatest challenge to Scheffler.
Steve Moore
Birmingham, Alabama
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If those LIV golfers were there, Scottie Scheffler may have had only six wins. But most probably seven, as those golfers just aren't in the same league.
Stephen Pearcy
Aiken, South Carolina
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No, Scottie Scheffler’s performance was not diminished by the absence of several has-been golfers, any more than it was diminished by the absence of Sam Snead or Arnold Palmer. LIV golfers are kept pets of their owners, and for the most part are content to just punch the clock and collect their checks.
George Moore
Albuquerque, New Mexico
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I wouldn't say Scottie Scheffler's accomplishments were diminished by the absence of Brooks Koepka, Jon Rahm, etc., but they would have been enhanced by their presence.
Larry Ashe
Chicago, Illinois
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I find it hard to believe that one would think that. Just because someone like Jon Rahm, Brooks Koepka or Cam Smith aren’t in the field doesn’t lessen the achievement of one winning an event. There is no guarantee that just because they are in the field they are going to play well and be competitive in that event. Why is it that we are always trying to create or manufacture a situation where all the top players are there at end of the event? It doesn’t work like that, especially in golf.
Wayne Smith
Georgetown, Texas
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Most likely? Yes, to a probable degree. But no one can really quantify how diminished. Water over the dam, I believe. Scottie will still rank No. 1 in the world by pretty much the same vote count.
Taking a different sport: Say the Philadelphia Phillies win this year's World Series over the Yankees, but the Yankees didn't have their top pitcher and their top three hitters — would the Phillies win be a diminished win. The media would say probably, but the Phillies would still be recognized as the world champs.
Tom Powers
Bradenton, Florida
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Of course it was diminished. Imagine Arnold Palmer competing without Jack Nicklaus, Lee Trevino or Tom Watson. Or Phil Mickelson without Tiger Woods, Tom Kite or Greg Norman. The PGA Tour has purposely watered down its fields through sheer childish petulance.
PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan botched a proposed business deal through incompetence hubris, not some high-minded moral high ground. How he still has a job is stunning.
Vinny Mooney
Poughkeepsie, New York
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Great question, in my opinion.
First, the events he won, would Jon Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau or Brooks Koepka have traditionally played in those events? I think the answer is yes. Would they have outplayed Scottie? I think that answer is mostly no.
Maybe one of them got hot and pushed Scottie, but I think he would have won all seven events anyway, just like Tiger Woods did when he was playing this well.
Joe Lyons
Alva, Florida
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Scottie Scheffler's feat for winning the FedEx Cup is not diminished by top LIV players not being there. You can only play against who shows up. If a team wins the Super Bowl and the opponent is playing its second-string quarterback the entire game, the win doesn’t get an asterisk.
Barry Duckworth
Knoxville, Tennessee
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RELIVING 2024'S BEST MOMENTS ON TOUR
[And that's a wrap]
For me, my stand out moments of the year were in the final round of the U.S. Open. As the round progressed and Bryson DeChambeau was hitting it left and right, you wondered as soon as he hit the ball "What kind of lie is he going to get, and can he escape again?" And he did. The straight ones? Wow, 350-yard drives, 200-yard 8-irons, and making every putt that counted. And then Rory McIlroy faltered again. Many times it’s an unbelievable bad wedge. This time the putter.
Barry Duckworth
Knoxville, Tennessee
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Front: Scottie Scheffler speaks to the media prior to the 2023 Scottish Open at The Renaissance Club in North Berwick, Scotland.
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Photo: Mateo Villalba