Scottie Scheffler: Three Wins in 2026, and Still Far Ahead

Three wins. For most players that is a career year. For Scottie Scheffler it was less than half of what he won in 2024, and the word going round in August was "down".

The scorecards say otherwise. Scheffler finished the 2026 PGA Tour season further ahead of the second-best player in Strokes Gained: Total than he was in 2024, the year he won seven times and an Olympic gold medal. What changed was not the size of his lead. It was where the lead came from, and how often he turned it into a trophy.

Quick Facts

The gap to No. 2 did not shrink

Strokes Gained: Total is the cleanest single measure of how much better a player is than the field, round by round. Scheffler has led the PGA Tour in it three seasons running. The interesting number is the distance to second place.

In 2024 he averaged 2.496 strokes gained per round. Xander Schauffele was next at 1.941, a gap of 0.555. In 2025 Scheffler went to 2.743 and Tommy Fleetwood was second at 1.629, a gap of 1.114. In 2026, as of 4 October, Scheffler sits at 2.249 and Matt Fitzpatrick is second at 1.359. That is a gap of 0.890.

So his own number came down, by about half a shot a round from 2025. But the field came down with it. The lead over the next man was bigger than in his seven-win season, and smaller only than his 2025 gap of 1.114.

Scoring average tells the same story. Scheffler led the Tour all three years: 68.645 in 2024, 68.131 in 2025, 68.619 in 2026. The man in second was 0.492 behind him in 2024, 0.952 in 2025 and 0.723 this year, with Rory McIlroy at 69.342.

The engine changed

Here is the part the "down year" talk missed. The lead used to be built almost entirely from tee to green. In 2026 it was built on the greens.

In 2024 Scheffler gained 1.269 strokes per round on approach shots and led the Tour by nearly half a shot. In 2025 it was 1.291, again first. This year it fell to 0.673, third behind Ben Kohles and Si Woo Kim. His Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green went from 2.401 and 2.361 to 1.674. Still first, but by 0.317 over Kim rather than the roughly one shot he held over Schauffele and Rico Hoey in the two years before.

The putter covered the difference. Scheffler ranked 77th in Strokes Gained: Putting in 2024, gaining 0.095 a round. He climbed to 22nd in 2025 at 0.382. In 2026 he is fifth on Tour at 0.574. Over 68 measured rounds that is 39.1 strokes gained on the greens, against 5.9 in 2024.

A player who used to win with irons and survive on the greens is now winning with the putter and merely leading the Tour with his irons. That is a different golfer from the one who swept the spring of 2024, and no less dangerous.

Where the wins went

The lead did not go missing. The conversion did.

In 2024 Scheffler made 19 starts, won seven and had 16 top-10s. In 2025 he made 20, won six, including the PGA Championship and The Open, and had 17 top-10s. In 2026 he made 20 starts and won three: The American Express in January, then the FedEx St. Jude Championship and the TOUR Championship in August. He had 13 top-10s, every one of them a top five.

Then the near misses. Five runner-up finishes, at the Masters, the RBC Heritage, the Cadillac Championship, the Travelers and the 3M Open. Two of them, Harbour Town and the Travelers, went to a playoff. Add two thirds, at Phoenix and the Byron Nelson, and he finished in the top three ten times. He missed one cut all year, at the Genesis Scottish Open.

That is a player who was in the frame almost every week and lost more Sunday shootouts than he is used to losing. Golf has a word for that and it is not decline.

The majors are the honest exception

If there is a case against 2026, it is the majors. Scheffler won one in 2024 and two in 2025. He won none this year.

He came close at Augusta. Eleven under, one behind McIlroy, after a 65-68 weekend that made him the first player since 1942 to go bogey-free over the weekend at the Masters. It was his third runner-up finish in a major. After that the threat faded a little: T14 at Aronimink in defence of his PGA Championship, T4 at Shinnecock Hills in the U.S. Open, T4 at Royal Birkdale in The Open.

Three top-five finishes in four majors is a season most players would frame. For a man who had won three of the previous eight, it is a step back, and it is the one column where 2026 clearly trails 2024 and 2025.

August put the argument away

The finish settled it. Scheffler won the St. Jude, then started the final round at East Lake three shots behind Viktor Hovland, closed with a 66 and won the TOUR Championship by three at 16 under. That was his 22nd PGA Tour win, all of them in the last five seasons, and his second FedExCup after 2024.

The $10 million first prize took his career PGA Tour earnings to $130,390,661, past Woods at the top of the all-time list. His 2026 official money alone was $30,937,525.

In September he went 3-1 at the Presidents Cup at Medinah and beat Nico Echavarria in the singles as the United States won 17-13. He did lose again in foursomes on the Friday, which left him 1-8 in that format across the Presidents Cup and Ryder Cup.

The world ranking gives the plainest verdict. As of 4 October, Scheffler averages 17.21 OWGR points to McIlroy's 8.84 in second. Nearly double. For more on how that average is calculated, see our guide to the OWGR world rankings, and for the man in second, our Rory McIlroy profile.

The ball-striking will tell us whether 2027 looks more like 2025 or more like this year. The putting has already told us he found a second way to stay ahead. For how the season and the playoffs fit together, our PGA Tour guide has the structure, and the next team chapter is covered in our Ryder Cup 2027 preview.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many majors has Scottie Scheffler won?

Four: the Masters in 2022 and 2024, and the PGA Championship and The Open in 2025. He won none in 2026, finishing second, T14, T4 and T4.

How many PGA Tour wins does Scottie Scheffler have?

Twenty-two, after the 2026 TOUR Championship. Three came in 2026, six in 2025 and seven in 2024.

Is Scottie Scheffler still world number one?

Yes. As of 4 October 2026 he is No. 1 in the Official World Golf Ranking with an average of 17.21 points, nearly double McIlroy's 8.84.

Was 2026 a down year for Scottie Scheffler?

In wins and majors, yes. In the numbers that measure how much better he plays than everyone else, no: he led the Tour in Strokes Gained: Total and scoring average again, by a wider margin than in 2024.

Sources

• PGA Tour: Scottie Scheffler player profile: birthplace, birth date, college, turned pro, 22 PGA Tour wins, career earnings
• PGA Tour: Scottie Scheffler results (2024, 2025, 2026 seasons): starts, wins, top-10s, every 2026 finish, 2026 official money, 2024 Olympic gold and TOUR Championship win
• PGA Tour: Stats, SG: Total: Scheffler and No. 2 averages for 2024, 2025 and 2026 (2026 through 4 October)
• PGA Tour: Stats, Scoring Average: scoring averages and second place for each season
• PGA Tour: Stats, SG: Approach the Green, SG: Putting and SG: Tee-to-Green: the shift from ball-striking to putting
• PGA Tour: Rory McIlroy goes back-to-back at the Masters: one-shot margin, Scheffler's bogey-free 65-68 weekend
• PGA Tour: Scheffler captures second FedExCup, moves past Tiger Woods in career earnings: three-shot comeback, closing 66, $130,390,661, five runner-ups
• PGA Tour: Scheffler on fan behavior after concession: singles win over Echavarria, 3-1 week, 17-13 result
• PGA Tour: Scheffler's poor Foursomes record gets worse at Presidents Cup: 1-8 foursomes record
• OWGR: Current world ranking: No. 1, 17.21 average points to McIlroy's 8.84

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