MONTREAL – Life is sometimes strewn with injustices and golfers who have had the misfortune of facing Scottie Scheffler in the last 12 months have certainly wondered on a few occasions what karma had against them.
For new generations of Golf fans, Scheffler's track record is unheard of: seven official PGA Tour titles, complemented by a green jacket, an Olympic medal and a first FedEx Cup.
For older generations, this domination may have brought back some memories of Tiger Woods in the early 2000s. Because yes, even if Scheffler is still far from having a legacy as rich as Woods, his current monopoly in the golf world is It's a funny approach to that of Woods.
After all, Scheffler's excellence has already allowed him to rise to fourth place in history for the most consecutive weeks at the top of the world rankings (84) and his presence seems to indicate that he is indeed at the continuation of the marks of Greg Norman (96 weeks in a row) as well as Tiger Woods (264 and 281 weeks in a row).
While the continued string of triumphs by the world No. 1 may seem redundant – or even detestable to some – this fantastic performance perhaps has more to offer for the development of golf. In fact, in 2024, Scheffler has raised the performance standards for any golfer seeking success.
This year, Scheffler has attracted the attention of everyone who wants to witness history. He attracted attention for his balance between professional life and his life as a new father. He attracted attention for his statistics and his composure. In the end, Scheffler attracted attention for everything that currently makes him the best golfer of his generation.
And he was also at the heart of a stint in prison in the middle of the PGA Championship due to a misunderstanding. But let's forget this brief blemish on the board.
The PGA Tour Player of the Year, Scheffler knocked a total of 239 shots under par this season and became the most decorated golfer in a year since 2007, joining Tiger Woods and Vijay Singh.
It's been a historic season for Scheffler and he has the tools up his sleeve to make 2025 just as spectacular – if not more so.
Oh yes! Let me remind you that Scheffler's exploits helped him get his hands on purses of $62.2 million this season, a shattering record.
Another year of growth in Canada
The last 12 months will also have allowed Canadian golf to shine once again and show that the representatives of the Unifolié can compete with the best in the world.
This growth of Canadian and Quebec golf in 2024 was crowned by the presence of the Presidents Cup at Royal Montreal, Île Bizard.
On a sporting level, the experience was a success. Despite yet another consecutive American victory against the Internationals, fans were treated to fiery duels and unexpected twists and turns, punctuated by two sweeps during the first two days.
Canadian captain Mike Weir also took advantage of the edition to put his faith in Corey Conners, Taylor Pendrith and Mackenzie Hughes, who all had the chance to play in front of the home crowd. In short, a dream scenario at first glance.
But apart from the sporting level, this event which was to make the city of Montreal shine further exposed a lack of commitment, or even a lack of seriousness towards the event.
As the only road connecting Montreal and Île Bizard is still under repair, major traffic issues marred the event. Fans experienced hell getting to the site, traffic jams caused frustration among residents and SAAQ road control agents targeted the shuttle system organized by the Presidents Cup.
And on the political level, sources revealed that the lines of communication between the PGA and Mayor Valérie Plante were not particularly open before the latter's first official meeting with PGA Commissioner Jay Monahan, during the 'event.
The crème de la crème of golfers were on Quebec soil and they offered a high-quality show, but the fiasco mainly linked to transportation issues unfortunately deprived Montreal of the maximum positive visibility that should accompany the tournament.
In bulk
It would probably be criminal to praise all of Scottie Scheffler's achievements without highlighting the performances of his fellow American Xander Schauffele. The only golfer to have truly followed Scheffler in terms of statistics and performance, Schauffele will have taken advantage of the year 2024 to win his first two major titles, at the PGA Championship and the British Open.
Still on top of the world, a word about the popular Rory McIlroy. He still belongs to golf's elite and there is no doubt about that. McIlroy enjoyed success and won two PGA tournaments. But to the great dismay of his supporters, Rors is still unable to keep his head above water in grand slam tournaments. Seeking his first major title since 2014, McIlroy seemed on track to end his U.S. Open drought… until a comedy of errors opened the door for Bryson DeChambeau . McIlroy will still have to wait, after winning four majors between 2011 and 2014. But resilient as he is, McIlroy could well roar as early as 2025.
A word also on LIV Golf, which crowned its new star Jon Rahm as champion of the season. The tour announced a merger with the PGA in June, which was intended to slow the separation of professional golf. After a long year of negotiations between the two circuits, we learned in November that LIV Golf and the PGA were on the verge of agreeing on a sum of $2 billion which would allow LIV Golf members to participate in PGA tournaments. . The war would be about to end.
At the women's level, Nelly Korda was as dominant as Scheffler at the start of the year, although her exploits were placed on a slightly less pedestal. Korda won six of her first eight tournaments of the season and was in the midst of a five-match winning streak between January 25 and April 18. She won 7 of her 16 starts and earned just over $4 million this season. At only 26 years old, she risks tormenting her opponents for a few more years.
As for the Canadian Brooke Henderson, she was unable to obtain the slightest victory despite nine top-10s in 24 tournaments. This is the first time since 2020 that she has not won a tournament during a season. Quebecer Maude-Aimée Leblanc had a difficult season and she only participated in the weekend rounds eight times in 19 tournaments. She ended her year on a positive note, saving her LPGA membership card two weeks ago.
