After tapping in for par on the 18th hole at Augusta National with the sun setting behind its towering pines, Scottie Scheffler claimed his second Masters in three years. Shortly thereafter, the prior year’s winner, John Rahm, placed the green jacket on Scheffler’s broad shoulders cementing Scheffler at the top of the world rankings.
As I watched the ceremony unfold, it reminded me of something Scott Van Pelt said last spring when he was discussing Scheffler and Rahm’s respective paths to the top of the sport. Given they had nearly identical scoring averages (~68.6), I figured their paths were very similar. I could not have been more wrong.
See, Rahm’s ascent had come from “risk-seeking”, as evidenced by the fact that he was averaging more than 5.5 birdies per round through the middle of last season and was on pace to become the first PGA player to do so since 2000.
Meanwhile, Scheffler’s success had come from “risk-mitigation”, as evidenced by the fact that he had made a bogey (or worse) on fewer than 10% of the holes he had played. Coincidentally, he was also on pace to do something that hadn’t been done since 2000.
For all you golfers out there, this should be encouraging because it means success can come in multiple forms, so long as you are disciplined enough to stick to what best suits your game. The trouble is few are willing and/or able to do so. Instead, the vast majority of golfers endlessly pivot.
On one hole they choose to be aggressive and attempt to hit a par-5 in two, only to lay up on the next one. They hit aggressive putts on some holes, then lag putts on others. They play it safe and pitch out from behind trees on the front nine, only
