Jordan Spieth tried hard to climb up the ladder. Playing at the PGA Tour course closest to his home, the Dallas citizen was eager to be the hometown hero and win the 2025 CJ Cup Byron Nelson. He put in a valiant effort in the final round to go 9-under par 62. However, he was still far off from another pro from his city, Scottie Scheffler. The world no. 1 managed a 31-under-par 253 to win his first PGA Tour title for 2025. With that, he not only became the hero of Dallas but also matched Spieth’s close friend, Justin Thomas’ course record after 72 holes.

When interviewed, the 3-time major winner admitted that Scheffler is better than him. He said, “It wasn’t that long ago that I was DEFINITELY better than him. And I’m DEFINITELY not right now.” After winning the 2025 CJ Cup Byron Nelson, Scheffler also left a message for Spieth in the post-tournament Press Conference.

He was asked, “Are you going to give Jordan grief about winning this tournament before he did, or are you going to go easy on him?” Confident after winning in a convincing fashion, the world no. 1 calmly replied, “I think I’ll take it easy on him.” With a win in his pocket now, Scheffler doesn’t have anything to prove.

However, the now 14x PGA Tour winner didn’t shy away from commenting on Spieth’s statement about who is better. One of the reporters respectfully asked him, “Scottie, pardon me if I didn’t dig this up in research, but in 2010, you’re 13. Were you here when Jordan sort of did his thing as a 16-year-old or not? Do you remember?” Two years before turning pro, Jordan Spieth played in the 2010 HP Byron Nelson Championship at the TPC Four Seasons Resort. While Jason Day took away the victory with a 2-stroke lead against the field, the 16-year-old finished at an impressive T16 in the first PGA Tour event of his career.

Coming back to the interview, Scheffler admitted, “I’m sure I was here. I would always like to come to the tournament and watch. I would come to this tournament, and I would typically tried to go to Colonial a bit as well. Colonial was a little bit farther for us. Sometimes after going to Byron, I would get the golf bug and want to go out and practice.” Scheffler confirmed that he was inspired by Spieth, who was only three years older than him. Four years later, at the 2014 HP Byron Nelson Championship, the world no. 1 made his PGA Tour debut and finished at T22.

While there was a six-year gap between Scheffler and Spieth turning pro, their career journey have still been quite similar. Let’s see how they match up against each other during their first few seasons.

Scottie Scheffler and Jordan Spieth carve out their success stories

After turning pro in 2012, Jordan Spieth officially joined the PGA Tour in 2013. In his first season itself, the 31-year-old won the John Deere Classic. Just two years later, Spieth was in the form of his life as he won five events in the 2014-15 season. That included the Masters Tournament and the U.S. Open. Overall, the Dallas native has captured 13 PGA Tour titles in his career, with his last victory coming in 2022.

Scottie Scheffler became a pro golfer in 2018 and took two years to join the PGA Tour. He didn’t find success immediately as his first couple of seasons went trophyless. However, after partnering up with Ted Scott, Scheffler has gone on a rampage, winning 13 titles in 3 years. With a win at TPC Craig Ranch just a few hours ago, the world no. 1 has now achieved more PGA Tour wins than Jordan Spieth. This justifies the 3x major winner’s statement, “I was DEFINITELY better than him. And I’m DEFINITELY not right now.” Wouldn’t you agree?