Scottie Scheffler’s historic run ends, and somehow he looks scarier than ever

The numbers say one thing about Scottie Scheffler. The scorecards say another.

Through the early stretch of the 2026 season, the world No. 1 has been oddly vulnerable on Thursdays, ranking 116th on the PGA Tour in first-round scoring. Yet by Sunday evening, he still leads the tour in overall scoring average – a contradiction that explains both his winless run in recent weeks and why no one is panicking.

At the Genesis Invitational, Scheffler’s latest comeback act nearly masked another sluggish start. He opened the week four over through 26 holes and briefly looked in danger of tumbling far down a limited-field leaderboard. By the time the tournament ended at Riviera Country Club, he had carded a final-round 65, played his last 62 holes in 16 under par and somehow climbed into a tie for 12th.

In most seasons, that would register as a strong week. For Scheffler, it marked the end of something historic.

He arrived at Riviera riding 18 consecutive top-10 finishes, the longest such streak on tour since official records began in 1983 – longer even than anything produced by Tiger Woods. For a moment Sunday, after a back-nine 31 put him inside the number yet again, it appeared the run would reach 19.

Then the leaderboard shifted.

Tommy Fleetwood holed out for eagle from 173 yards on the 15th. Cameron Young birdied his final three holes. Scheffler slipped to T-12, and the streak was over.

The twist? The rally itself may have reinforced why he remains the sport’s most formidable presence.

Scheffler already owns victories this season, including a triumph at The American Express that made him just the third player under 30 to reach 20 PGA Tour wins and four major titles, joining Woods and Jack Nicklaus. He narrowly missed a playoff at the WM Phoenix Open after opening with a 73. At Pebble Beach, he followed an even-par start with a blistering 63 on Sunday, complete with three eagles, finishing two shots shy of Collin Morikawa.

The pattern is unmistakable: slow start, relentless charge.

It is a new wrinkle in Scheffler’s dominance. Earlier in his ascent, he buried fields from the front. Now, he is proving he can absorb a punch and still contend – a trait more associated with grinders than generational stars.

There is also a broader subplot at play. Riviera is one of the PGA Tour’s three marquee player-hosted invitationals, alongside the Arnold Palmer Invitational and the Memorial Tournament. Scheffler has already conquered the events tied to Palmer and Nicklaus. The tournament long associated with Woods remains the missing piece, and this year’s furious weekend charge suggested he is close to completing that trifecta.

Instead, it was Jacob Bridgeman who held on for the win at 18 under, just two shots clear of Scheffler’s weekend surge.

If the first-round woes are the headline, the underlying numbers tell a different story. Scheffler remains the betting favorite at all four major championships and continues to separate himself statistically from the field.

A tie for 12th at a signature event ended a streak – but it also underscored a reality the rest of the tour understands well. Even when Scottie Scheffler plays his worst golf of the week on Thursday, he is still capable of turning Sunday into a charge.

And that may be more intimidating than front-running ever was.