'Every time Scheffler shows up he is the guy to beat'

In the eyes of many pundits, fans and even players, this week's US Open is Scottie Scheffler's to lose, and it's easy to see why.

The world number one is enjoying the kind of dominant start to a year - with five wins in his past eight tournaments, including a second Masters victory - that has prompted comparisons with Tiger Woods.

"When you start getting compared to Tiger, that's when you know you are in a level that is quite special," said two-time major champion Jon Rahm.

Four-time major winner Rory McIlroy described 27-year-old American Scheffler as "undoubtedly the best in the world", adding: "It seems like every time he shows up, he is the guy to beat."

Bryson DeChambeau, the 2020 US Open champion, said "he is the gold standard", while rising Norwegian star Viktor Hovland said Scheffler is "taking the level of consistency to a new level".

"Scottie is doing incredible things," said last month's US PGA Championship victor and world number two Xander Schauffele.

Such plaudits across the board for a fellow player have not been heard since the days of Woods in his pomp.

After being told of the praise being heaped upon him by his peers, Scheffler said: "It's nice to hear because I think we all try to bust each other up when we're out there competing.

"That's part of the friendship bond. You want to mess with your buddies, so to hear compliments is definitely nice."

That messing with your buddies was in full swing on Tuesday at Pinehurst's Number Two course, which is hosting the 124th US Open starting on Thursday.

McIlroy was asked if he regretted giving Scheffler the idea to try a mallet-headed putter to help with his much talked-about struggles on the green.

That was in February. He went on to win four of his next five events and was joint second in the other before finishing joint eighth at the US PGA.

"The only thing that [stopped] him from winning [the US PGA] was going into a jail cell for an hour," laughed McIlroy, referring to Scheffler's arrest on the morning of the second round.

Scheffler, who said "I don't love reliving it, but sometimes being able to laugh about it is a good skill", was charged with second-degree assault, third-degree criminal mischief, reckless driving and disregarding traffic signals from a police officer. The charges were later dropped.

Eighth at Valhalla was his lowest finish in what has been a stellar three months.

In March he became the first man to defend the Players Championship and he followed that with a second Masters title in April, matching Woods as the only players to win both tournaments in the same year.

His win at the Memorial Tournament on Sunday was his third in a PGA Tour 'designated' event that carry $20m (£15.6m) purses, adding to his Arnold Palmer Invitational and RBC Heritage victories.

"You're basically replicating a Tiger Woods season," said Rahm, who has pulled out of this week's championship with a foot injury.

"It's an added motivation to see somebody do so well because that's what we all strive for and, as a golf fan, it's just absolutely incredible to watch.

"When you've top five in pretty much every category - tee to green - if you just putt average you're going to beat everybody."

McIlroy pointed to the "relentlessness" of Scheffler. "He's played 13 times this year; only once [finished] out of the top 10. Seems like he's always in contention," he said.

"And it's not as if he hasn't had challenges along the way. They've just had a new child. He's been through some struggles in his game, particularly with the putter, that he's been able to turn around."

Schauffele said: "Every week we play, he seems to build a bigger lead and somehow make the mountain even taller for all of us to climb."

Scheffler has banked a staggering $24m (£18.7m) in prize money this year and is as short a price favourite with the bookmakers to land his third major this week as Woods was in his pomp.

He has also opened up a lead at the top of the world rankings similar to that enjoyed by Woods for some of his 683 weeks as the world's best player. Scheffler has been top of the pile for 91 weeks.

Scheffler is keen to play down the similarities - he is 13 majors and 71 PGA Tour wins behind Woods - but he is in his prime and on an upward trajectory.

It is no surprise that one of the key elements to his dominance has been his improvement with the putter. He led most of the key metrics from tee to green last year but struggled on the greens and won only twice.

Scheffler recruited the services of renowned putting coach Phil Kenyon last autumn and has seen a marked improvement.

Given Woods' assertion that this week will be a "war of attrition" on particularly tricky greens, that progression will be tested to the full.

A hot putter has led to five wins in eight events and means that, since winning his first PGA Tour title in February 2022, Scheffler is averaging one victory every five tournaments.

That compares favourably with 15-time major champion Woods, who won 82 PGA Tour titles at an astonishing rate of one every 4.5 starts.

However, Scheffler will need to continue his current level of dominance for more than another decade if he is to get anywhere close to Woods' standard.

His overall career average is a win every 11.3 tournaments, a number that is more comparable to McIlroy's 9.7 average, with 26 wins in 251 starts.

While the golfing world continues to make the comparisons with Woods, Scheffler comes across as rather nonplussed by all the fuss.

DeChambeau said to him at the start of the week: "Dude, you're playing unbelievable. What are you doing, man?

"He was like, 'I'm just playing good golf. I don't know. It's one of those things.'"

Asked what it was like to be the best golfer on the planet, Scheffler said: "I try to be the best husband and father I can be, and when I'm out here I try to be the best golfer I can be.

"I try not to overthink things. I try to live one moment at a time and soak it all up because you never know how long it's going to last."

Scheffler is, of course, just the latest to be compared to Woods. Players like McIlroy, Jordan Spieth and Brooks Koepka have all had spells where they too looked like they could dominate in the manner Woods did. It will be fascinating to see if Scheffler can kick on where others have stalled.