Scottie Scheffler and Nelly Korda are the biggest things in golf for a reason

The heights they’re reaching have become comical: two golfers taking over their respective sports with such mastery that, at least for this moment, it’s hard to imagine anyone beating them.

Nelly Korda just won her fifth consecutive start, finishing with a major, the Chevron Championship. Scottie Scheffler just won four of five starts with a Masters in between. The world’s number one men and women are no longer just the best players in their sport. They are becoming two of the best of all time. It got to the point where this week in Hilton Head, Scheffler was jokingly asked if the two were in a competition.

“I don’t know, man,” he joked, “I think if it’s a competition, she’s pretty much got me beat right now. Five wins in a row. She had that T16 at the beginning of the year, which was just terrible. “I can’t believe she did that.”

And with their streaks of greatness has come a fun little trend: who can post the most ridiculous and impressive stats or notes to quantify how incredible their golf has been in 2024?

“Best five weeks since this.”

“The most strokes gained since then.”

It’s gotten so extreme and entertaining that we decided, hey, let’s make a list of the most impressive and revealing notes about Scheffler and Korda’s storied careers.

1. In their last 10 combined starts, Korda and Scheffler have beaten 1,163 golfers, for Monday Q Information. Only one golfer beats either one. Stephen Jaeger avoided a playoff and beat Scheffler by one stroke at the Houston Open after he missed the latter’s putt on the 18th. For Korda, it’s the first time someone has won five consecutive LPGA events since Annika Sorsenstam ( 2004, 2005). Scheffler’s streak of WW-T2-WW is only the fifth streak of five T2s or more in the last 30 years. Tiger Woods did it eight times in a row twice, and seven in a row on another occasion. Scheffler equaled Vijay Singh’s career in 2004.

2. Korda and Scheffler became the second pair of world number one players in men’s and women’s golf to win majors in consecutive weeks (since the inception of the Rolex Women’s World Golf Ranking). Tiger and Lorena Ochoa did it in consecutive weeks at the Women’s British Open and the PGA Championship in 2007, according to The Athletic contributor Justin Ray.

3. In the last 42 days, Scheffler has earned $16.3 million. That’s the second-most wins in a PGA Tour season, and he did it in just five events. That means Ted Scott, Scheffler’s caddy, has earned approximately $1.78 million this year, putting him 45th on the 2024 PGA Tour money list, ahead of Rory McIlroy.

Scheffler is chasing his own record. He earned $21.04 million last season.

4. It’s not just about Scheffler’s victories. These are its two years of historical coherence. Scheffler has finished in the top 3 in 23 of his last 51 events. That beats almost the entire field 43 percent of the time. For reference, Xander Schauffele is #2 on DataGolf and has been one of the most consistent players in men’s professional golf not named Scheffler. Schauffele’s betting odds before the RBC Heritage projected him finishing in the top five 30 percent of the time. For a tournament. Scheffler has finished in the top three at almost one and a half times that pace.

5. Scottie’s lead in the world rankings over No. 2 Rory McIlroy is greater than McIlroy’s lead over No. 788 Tiger Woods. Scheffler has twice as many OWGR points as McIlroy, with 690 total points for an average of 15 points to McIlroy’s 338, for an average of 7.4.

The gap between world No. 1 Nelly Korda and world No. 2 Lilia Vu in the Rolex women’s golf rankings is as wide as the gap between Vu and No. 185-ranked player Auston Kim.

6. Scheffler has twice as many rounds of 64 or less this season (4) as he has rounds of even par (2). Even par is his worst score in 2024 (Round 2 of the Houston Open and Masters). He hasn’t shot over par since a 3-over 73 at the Tour Championship in August.

7. With her victory at the Chevron Championship, Korda became the third LPGA player to win five tournaments in five starts, joining Nancy Lopez (1978) and Sorenstam. After withdrawing from this week’s Los Angeles Championships, Korda could claim a record sixth victory as soon as the Founders Cup (May 9-12 in Clifton, New Jersey).

8. No American golfer had won five tournaments in a single LPGA season since Juli Inkster in 1999. Korda had just won five in consecutive events before May.

9. Korda leads the 2024 LPGA season points race with 2,702 CME Globe points. Lydia Ko is in second place and has earned less than half. Korda has already earned enough points to finish third in each of the last two years.

10. Korda, 25, became the youngest American player to win a second LPGA major since Juli Inkster (who was 23 years old) in 1984 (via Justin Ray). Inkster ultimately won seven between 1984 and 2002. Meg Mallon is the only other American to reach four majors in the 21st century. Korda is halfway there.

The only good news for the rest of the PGA and LPGA Tours? Scheffler and Korda have decided to take this week off.

(Illustration: Dan Goldfarb / The Athletic; Photos: Andy Lyons, Andrew Redington/Getty Images)