Scottie Scheffler annihilated the field at TPC Craig Ranch last year. The World No. 1 registered an emphatic tournament record score of 31-under par in the 2025 CJ Cup Byron Nelson. With that, he also won the event in his home state of Texas by eight strokes, with Erik van Rooyen trailing him at 23-under par. This year, he has another shot at making history.
PGA Tour Communications tweeted, “2025 THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson winner and Dallas resident Scottie Scheffler is seeking to become the first player since Tiger Woods to successfully defend their title after winning by eight strokes the year prior (2007 WGC-Workday Championship at The Concession).”
As stated, the last player to do so was Tiger Woods, with the American accomplishing that feat at the WGC-Workday Championship.
Meanwhile, heading into the final round, Scheffler is sitting at T2, just two strokes behind tournament leader Si Woo Kim. He is also tied with Wyndham Clark, who bled through a tough round on Saturday to finish at the top with him. However, this is a playing field he’s far too familiar with. He holds an impeccable record of claiming victories after finishing 54 holes in such positions.
After R2 at the 2025 Procore Championship, for instance, he was eight shots behind the tournament leader Ben Griffin. By Sunday morning, it had shrunk to 2 shots, and by the 15th hole, it became a two-shot lead. On Sunday, he took home the trophy. So it won’t come as a surprise if the 20x PGA Tour champion makes it 21 by Sunday evening.
And, really, is it so hard to imagine Scheffler breaking the record?
Scheffler has already broken plenty of other Woods’ records, including with back-to-back wins at the Memorial last season. Last season, when he won at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson by eight strokes, he registered the second-largest winning margin at the tournament since Sam Snead did it in 1957 (10 strokes).
With a win here, however, he would match Woods again in another criterion.
2025 THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson winner and Dallas resident Scottie Scheffler is seeking to become the first player since Tiger Woods to successfully defend their title after winning by eight strokes the year prior (2007 WGC-Workday Championship at The Concession).
Scheffler won by…
— PGA TOUR Communications (@PGATOURComms) May 23, 2026
If he wins here on Sunday, Scheffler will have successfully defended his PGA Tour title for the fourth consecutive year. In the last 30 years, and as per stats guru Justin Ray, only Woods has managed to do so, and he did it twice (2000 – 2004, 2006 – 2009).
However, as he nears matching Tiger Woods‘ record of retaining a title after a huge margin win, there’s another goal he will have a close eye on going into the event. Now, that might be something he won’t be able to achieve for the next few years.
Scottie Scheffler might have a bigger Tiger Woods record in mind many years down the line
After his emphatic win at TPC Craig Ranch in 2025, Scottie Scheffler would certainly relish defending the CJ Cup Byron Nelson in his home state successfully this year. Especially after he couldn’t retain the Wanamaker Trophy last week. But matching Tiger Woods’ record is not the only thing that would be on his mind this Sunday.
The world number one would also be eager to get close to Woods’ record of most successful title defenses in PGA Tour history. He has retained 23 PGA Tour titles throughout his career. That is truly a remarkable feat.
In fact, the closest anyone has gotten to that record is Woods’ biggest rival, Phil Mickelson. Lefty has had 5 successful title defences throughout his career. Scheffler comes in next with 3 official defences.
If he wins the 2026 CJ Cup Byron Nelson, then that tally will go up to 4. Granted, it’s nowhere near Woods’ mammoth 23 defenses. However, he still has a long career ahead of him. And judging by how often he wins and how dominating he is, Scheffler might be the only one who can get anyone close to what the 15-time major winner has achieved in his career.
