One thing Scottie Scheffler hasn’t done? Win three straight TOUR starts

Scottie Scheffler only played nine holes to prepare for this week’s Charles Schwab Challenge. Don’t expect that to hinder his chances much.

Scheffler arrived at Colonial Country Club on Wednesday, fresh off a five-stroke victory at last week’s PGA Championship – preceded by an eight-stroke win at THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson two weeks prior. The world No. 1 seeks his first Charles Schwab Challenge title, after placing inside the top three in each of the last three seasons at Colonial Country Club, and he’s trying to become the first player to win three straight TOUR starts since 2017.

Scheffler has joined Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus as the modern era’s only players to win 15 PGA TOUR titles, including three majors, before age 29. It’s elite company. Yet rather than resting on his laurels after an emotional win at Quail Hollow Club, his first major title as a father, he has returned home to the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex in search of his first Texan tartan jacket (the traditional winner’s garb at Colonial.)

Why, might one ask? Why not?

“This is a golf course that I really love and I always enjoy coming back to,” Scheffler said in a press conference Wednesday. “I think you have to hit it so well around this place … I like the challenge of more of an old-school design. I think it's just a place that hasn't changed much over the years, and it continues to test us, and I'm looking forward to trying to battle this place again this year.”

Last year, Scheffler was oh-so-close to winning five straight TOUR starts, but he followed wins at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard and THE PLAYERS Championship with a runner-up finish (by one stroke) at the Texas Children’s Houston Open – then won the Masters and RBC Heritage. Could the Dallas resident be on the verge of a similar run? There’s limited evidence to suggest otherwise. After a relatively slow start to 2025 (by his standards), his back-to-back victories indicate the dominant Scheffler of 2024 is among us once again.

How do you beat someone who ranks second on TOUR in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee and first in SG: Approach the Green – when that player also ranks a hearty 15th in SG: Putting? It’s a narrow path. Scheffler ranked 77th in SG: Putting in 2024, one year after ranking a mediocre 162nd in the statistic. He was always an outstanding putter in his youth, his friends and coaches often say, and the recent tutelage of Phil Kenyon has further unlocked that skill set. Now he’s firing on all cylinders.

There’s no question that Scheffler’s game fits the traditional layout at Colonial Country Club, which features narrow landing areas and forces a player to work the ball both ways. (Then again, his game fits pretty much anywhere.) His dominance is underlined by an old-school soul; he has often said that his favorite thing to do is practice. If a hole asks a player to hit a draw off the tee and fade into a green, or vice versa, he relishes it.

Colonial has seen firm greens early in the week, Scheffler said, and the upcoming dry forecast suggests they’ll continue to firm up as the week progresses. Hence, those in complete control of their golf ball should fare well. Hence, one can expect Scheffler, the overwhelming betting favorite into the week, to contend once again.

“I love the golf course here. I think it's a great test,” Scheffler said. “That's also one of the big reasons I try to come to this event each year, is just for the golf course.”

The only thing perhaps working against him: the difficulty in winning three straight TOUR starts. Just two players since 2008 have won three straight TOUR starts: Rory McIlroy (2014) and Dustin Johnson (2017). But if you think this fazes Scheffler in any way, or if he’s satisfied to traverse the Colonial grounds while basking in the glow of his third major title – think again.

“Coming off a major win, obviously there's a lot of emotion and stuff that comes with winning that golf tournament, but at the end of the day, I didn't just show up here to Fort Worth to just walk around and celebrate last week,” Scheffler said. “I'm here for a reason, and that's not to just play a couple of ceremonious rounds and then ride off in the sunset. I'm here for a reason. That's to compete.”