Scottie Scheffler has been the dominant force in the men’s game over the past four years, although could the world No 1 be showing signs of a weakening to his superpowers ahead of The Players?
It seems ridiculous to describe a player with four majors in as many seasons and 20 (yes, twenty) PGA Tour wins in that span as someone suffering a dip in form, but the stats suggest he hasn't been at the brilliant best we've become accustomed to seeing week in, week out.
Scheffler remains the pre-tournament favourite to win The Players for a third time in four years and join Jack Nicklaus as the only other three-time winner of the event, despite a noticeable drop-off with approach play in recent starts.
Part of the reason Scheffler has been so frequently compared to Tiger Woods is for his remarkable consistency, having led the PGA Tour in strokes gained and in approach play over each of the last three seasons.
Scheffler continues to impress in strokes gained off the tee, sitting third and second respectively heading into The Players, although it's in approach play where Scheffler has lost ground for the first time in several seasons.
A tied-24th finish at the Arnold Palmer Invitational on Sunday marked his worst PGA Tour result in 13 months, with Scheffler ranked 44th in the field for the week in strokes gained approach - his worst in any 72-hole PGA Tour event for four years.
Scheffler ended the week 13 strokes behind winner Akshay Bhatia to finish outside the top 10 in successive PGA Tour events for the first time in a year, giving him plenty to work on ahead of partnering Tommy Fleetwood and Justin Thomas at TPC Sawgrass.
"I feel like I saw some good things out of it [his game]," Scheffler said after Bay Hill. "We'll see going forward where I'll be at, but overall I definitely saw some good things from it [ahead of The Players].
Scheffler was a six-time worldwide winner last year and opened his 2026 campaign with a four-shot win at The American Express, seeing him join Nicklaus and Woods as the only players to have 20 PGA Tour victories - including four majors - before turning 30.
The world No 1 recovered from uncharacteristically slow starts at the WM Phoenix Open and AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am to finish inside the top-four in both, only to see his record-breaking run of 18 consecutive PGA Tour top-10s ended at the Genesis Invitational.
Scheffler's most recent start at Bay Hill saw his score get progressively worse as each round progressed, following an opening-round 70 with scores of 71, 72 and 73 and ended the week with two bogeys in the last five holes.
"He's been like it [irritable] for quite some time," Wayne 'Radar' Riley told the Your Site Golf podcast. "I don't know what's going on with Scottie. He won the American Express and you thought 'he's off and running, he's going to win a load', then it's just gone off the boil.
"I've heard him have a right few whinges. On the golf course you don't really know what you're going to get.
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"When you're a new person coming on tour, it's all lovely. It's like a big old box of chocolates. You cruise out there and everything's just 'dandy', as they say over here. As you stay on tour a little longer, seeing some things start to go wrong, you start to see players' true characters.
"He has been having a whinge because things aren't currently going his way. In the last three years, he's only won like 100 million dollars? Stop your whinging!"
It would be little surprise to see Scheffler silence any doubters and return to winning ways at The Players, where he has the best cumulative score over the past five years and has ranked top of almost every scoring metric at TPC Sawgrass over the past three editions.
Scheffler became the first player in history to defend his title when he followed his 2023 win with another 12 months later, where he played his last 31 holes bogey-free to close out victory.
Rory McIlroy is looking to emulate Scheffler by successfully going back-to-back, having won last year's edition in a play-off, with over the weekend.
"Don't be worried about it all - it [McIlroy's back] will be absolutely fine," Riley insisted. "There's a couple like him [in being fortunate with injuries through their career] - Phil Mickelson was another one like that, they just don't get injured.
"For all the weightlifting that Rory does, he's like a pocket rocket. He's a nuggety chap, who works very hard in the gym. It's just a little niggle - it happens. Over the weekend, he'll be ready to go."
A total of 47 of the world's top 50 are scheduled to feature at The Players, where FedExCup leader looks to win the event for the first time, Tommy Fleetwood bids to become the first Englishman to win the tournament and Brooks Koepka returns for the first time in five years.
"It's an incredible place," Riley added about The Players. "They say it's the fifth major, but I'm not so sure about that. The Players is basically already the fifth major, so why do they want it when they've already got it?
"It's a great championship, The weather is usually spot on, the golf course is an incredible thing and the amphitheatre on 17 doesn't disappoint. I don't think The Players is a major, but it's as big."
Listen to Wayne 'Radar' Riley in the latest episode of the Your Site Golf podcast, where him and Jamie Weir look back at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and preview The Players. There's also an exclusive interview with PGA Tour player Ryan Gerard.
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