Tiger Woods’ 683 weeks at No. 1 in the Official World Golf Ranking? That number is absolutely mind-blowing. Seriously, try to wrap your head around that for a second. Meanwhile, Scottie Scheffler has been crushing it as the current world No. 1, and honestly, no active player has even come close to threatening this insane milestone. But here’s the thing that’ll blow your mind—a recent statistical analysis just revealed exactly how far our current king still trails the 15-time major champion. And trust me, the gap is brutal.

The numbers paint a sobering picture for Scheffler’s quest. Currently, the American sits at 145 weeks at the summit of the OWGR. Furthermore, his dominance shows no signs of slowing down after another stellar 2025 campaign. Yet the challenge ahead seems overwhelming.

Scottie Scheffler vs Tiger Woods: The Staggering Statistical Gap

Golf analysts recently crunched the numbers on Scheffler’s potential to match Woods’ record. Consequently, they discovered something remarkable. Even if Scheffler maintains his No. 1 position from now until August 2035, he would still fall short. Specifically, he would need an additional 10 weeks beyond that timeline to tie Woods’ all-time mark.

This projection assumes Scheffler never loses the top ranking for an entire decade. Additionally, it highlights the sheer magnitude of Woods’ achievement during his peak years. Previous analysis has suggested that matching Woods would require staying at the top for 11 years and 10 months. If Scheffler maintained his current pace, he wouldn’t match Woods until age 39. Therefore, the challenge appears virtually insurmountable.

The numbers reveal just how exclusive this territory truly is. Only Scheffler and Woods have held No. 1 for 100+ consecutive weeks in OWGR history. Currently, Scheffler sits at 111+ consecutive weeks, making him third all-time behind Woods’ two legendary streaks. Woods accumulated his weeks through those two stretches: 264 consecutive weeks from 1999-2004, then 281 weeks from 2005-2010. Remarkably, these two runs alone account for 545 weeks of his total.

The dominance levels also show stark differences. Woods reached No. 1 faster than anyone in history at the time and accumulated a record 32.44 average points at his peak. Meanwhile, Scheffler currently holds over 15 average points—double his nearest competitor—yet still falls far short of Woods’ peak dominance. Woods also demonstrated unprecedented consistency, holding the top spot for eight complete calendar years compared to Scheffler’s one complete year in 2024.

Scheffler himself acknowledges the difficulty of sustained excellence. After winning the RBC Heritage, he reflected on Woods’ dominance. “I think it’s underrated how difficult it is to do the stuff that Tiger was doing and win like every single week,” Scheffler admitted. His comments underscore the mental and physical toll of maintaining such a high level of consistency.

Tiger Woods Era vs Modern Golf: The OWGR Evolution Factor

The OWGR underwent significant changes in August 2022, adopting a Strokes Gained World Rating system that adjusts for field strength and competition difficulty. This new system rewards players based on actual scores relative to field strength, meaning Scheffler competes under different parameters than Woods during his historic runs. Critics have questioned the system’s effectiveness, with Woods himself referring to it as “a flawed system” during the 2022 Hero World Challenge.

Today’s competition landscape differs dramatically from Woods’ peak years. The PGA Tour now features deeper fields and a greater international presence. Equipment advances have compressed scoring differentials across professional ranks, potentially making sustained dominance more challenging than during Woods’ era.

Scheffler’s current reign began in May 2023 and has continued through multiple seasons. His 2024 campaign produced nine worldwide victories plus an Olympic gold medal. However, golf history shows such streaks rarely last indefinitely, making Woods’ 683-week achievement even more remarkable and may remain golf’s ultimate testament to sustained excellence. While Scheffler continues to build his legacy, the brutal statistical gap revealed in the analysis shows just how extraordinary Woods’ reign truly was. The numbers don’t lie about the magnitude of this challenge.