Scottie Scheffler "couldn't care less" about Tiger Woods golf betting comparison

Scottie Scheffler admits he "couldn't care less" about being as short in the betting odds to win PGA Tour events as Tiger Woods was in his prime. 

The runaway World No.1 was speaking to reporters ahead of this week's WM Phoenix Open at famed TPC Scottsdale in Arizona.

Scheffler, 28, won this tournament in back to back years in 2022 and 2023.

The American's victory here in 2022 marked his first ever on the PGA Tour. 

Now with 13 PGA Tour titles in his locker including two green jackets, Scheffler regularly lines up as a red-hot tournament favourite everywhere he tees it up these days. 

In particular this week where Scheffler is a clear 5/2 pre-tournament favourite and similar odds that 82-time record winner Woods used to be during his prime on the PGA Tour.

So how does Scheffler feel about that Woods comparison in the betting market, and the extra pressure that comes with that of being expected to win. 

Quite frankly he could not care less. 

"Believe it or not, I don't bet on golf, so --," quipped Scheffler in the media centre. 

"No, I totally understand what you're saying. At the end of the day, I don't pay attention to that stuff but I couldn't care less what I'm favoured to win a tournament. It doesn't mean anything. I start the tournament even par, so it doesn't really matter.

"I think going out and playing the tournament and doing the best I can over the course of 72 holes is what I'm focused on. I've had some good results in the last few years, and I definitely didn't focus on what my odds were at the time then when they were long. I'm not going to focus on them when they're short."

Scheffler is one of only two men in the world's top 10 taking part at the WM Phoenix Open.

The other man is in-form Hideki Matsuyama, ranked fifth in the world. 

Matsuyama won The Sentry at the start of the season.

Other players towards the front of the betting market include Justin Thomas, Sungjae Im and Sam Burns. 

Scheffler is making just his second start of the new season having been forced onto the sidelines after a horror hand injury on Christmas Day.

He was required to have surgery as a result and then needed to spend four weeks recovering before making his first start of the year at last week's AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am where he went on to finish a respectable T9. 

Scheffler captured seven official titles on the PGA Tour last season and nine overall in 2024. 

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