Golf fans have witnessed a remarkable transformation in the game over the past year, with Tommy Fleetwood and Scottie Scheffler at the heart of the conversation. The 2025 season has been nothing short of spectacular, filled with breakthrough victories, equipment changes, and candid reflections from some of the sport’s biggest personalities. But as the dust settles on a whirlwind stretch of tournaments, the debate rages on: who truly stands atop the golfing world, and what separates the elite from the contenders?
At the center of it all is Scottie Scheffler, whose 2024 campaign will be remembered for both its early struggles and its triumphant turnaround. Scheffler’s putting woes at the 2024 Genesis Invitational were on full display, with the American star holing just three putts from 10 feet or more. The result? A T-10 finish—nine shots behind Hideki Matsuyama, the eventual winner. CBS cameras caught Rory McIlroy on the broadcast, and the Northern Irishman didn’t hesitate to offer advice. "For me, going to a mallet was a big change," McIlroy said after his own T-24 finish at the Genesis Open. "I really persisted with the blade putter for a long time, but I just feel like your stroke has to be so perfect to start the ball on line, where the mallet just gives you a little bit more margin for error. So, I'd love to see Scottie try a mallet. But selfishly for me, Scottie does everything else so well that he's given the rest of us a chance."
McIlroy’s suggestion might have sounded offhand, but it coincided with a seismic shift in Scheffler’s approach. Soon after, Scheffler switched to a TaylorMade Spider mallet putter, debuting it at the 2024 FedEx St. Jude Championship. The change was dramatic: Scheffler’s percentage of putts made from 10-15 feet jumped from 26.4% to 33.4%, while his 15-20 foot conversion rate rose from 21.1% to 27.6%. The Spider putter, as Scheffler put it, made things simpler. "This Spider putter is really easy for me to line up," he said in March 2024. "I don't have to use the line on the ball. I line the putter up really well, and I line up in the middle of the face, and pretty much as simple as that. Kind of gives me just a really good visual."
The results spoke volumes. Scheffler stormed to victories at The Masters, The Players Championship, the Tour Championship, and even claimed Olympic gold. His stellar season was capped with a third consecutive PGA Tour Player of the Year award—an achievement matched only by Tiger Woods from 2005 to 2007. But was McIlroy’s advice the catalyst? Adrian Rietveld, TaylorMade’s senior manager, set the record straight on the Fore Play Podcast: "It started way longer before Rory made that comment. And it was really a project with, I do thank Rory for the comment though, definitely. Even if it contributed 1 percent it was needed, because Scottie's a tough switch."
While Scheffler’s journey has been one of technical refinement, Tommy Fleetwood’s rise has been a story of perseverance and heart. After 164 attempts, Fleetwood finally broke through on American soil, winning the 2025 Tour Championship and claiming the FedEx Cup. His victory came on the heels of a sensational run—he also captured the DP World India Championship in October, marking his third win in three months, and led Europe to a dramatic Ryder Cup triumph over Team USA in New York with a 4-1 record. The Englishman’s consistent excellence has propelled him to a career-high fifth in the world rankings, trailing only Scheffler, McIlroy, Xander Schauffele, and Russell Henley.
Fleetwood’s strengths are well documented. He ranks second overall in approach play, sits inside the top 20 for putting, 25th for driving accuracy, and is a wizard with a wedge—14th for approaches inside 100 yards. But if there’s one area that analysts believe holds him back, it’s driving distance. Smylie Kaufman, former PGA Tour pro turned analyst, weighed in: "I feel like those two are in a category by themselves," Kaufman said of McIlroy and Scheffler. "I think Tommy is definitely in that next tier of guys who, I think, have the capability to win major championships, win signature events, potentially can play their way into being solidified third player in the world from a world ranking standpoint. I think everybody has work to do to chase down, obviously Scottie's got a three touchdown lead, but maybe if Rory were to have an off year, to become the second best player in the world. Tommy's definitely in that category for certain, for how he's played."
Kaufman added, "I'm not ready to pronounce that he's in this big three category. I hate to use age as a reason why. His consistency, for certain, the way he hits the golf ball, the feeling that he has no weaknesses. I will say that, yes, he does hit it fairly far, but is he gaining strokes off the tee like Scottie and Rory do with their length? Over the course of an entire year, I still feel like that's such an important stat. I know he hits a lot of fairways, but the more distance he can pick up, the better it will be for Tommy because I think to be the best player in the world, you can't be just a little bit above average when it comes to distance off the tee."
Fleetwood, for his part, is candid about both his successes and shortcomings. Despite his recent surge, he openly admitted, "As good as the season has been, it was a poor major year for me." For the first time since 2021, he failed to notch a top-10 finish in any of the four majors. Yet, his focus remains on improvement: "That's something I'll look back on and be slightly disappointed in, but also take away the lessons and look at what I could do better going into next year." Fleetwood’s attitude—win or lose—is a big reason fans connect with him. "There's always something to play for. There's always something else that comes up. There's always something else that you will end up striving for no matter how high or low you sit in any kind of rankings," he reflected.
Looking ahead, Fleetwood has his sights set on the 2026 majors: Augusta National for the Masters, Shinnecock Hills for the US Open (where he finished second in 2018), Aronimink Golf Club for the PGA Championship, and Royal Birkdale for his 12th Open appearance in his hometown of Southport. His history of near-misses—like losing late leads at the Travelers Championship and FedEx St. Jude Championship—only fuels his determination. "I'm still driven to try and be as good as I can possibly be, and I'll look forward to getting to work. I'll look forward to practicing," Fleetwood said. "I still have so much to do in my career, and I know that each day how I think and how I act and how I practice and how I work goes towards those things. Whether I achieve all the things that I set out to do or not is a different story."
As the 2025 season winds down, Scheffler is set to return at the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas, while Fleetwood eyes further European Tour events before tackling the majors next year. The conversation about who belongs in golf’s true elite continues, but if recent months are any indication, both Scheffler and Fleetwood are determined to leave their mark—one putt, one drive, and one tournament at a time.
