What do you do when you enter the course of golf’s biggest tournament with an entire country’s expectations on you? You don’t falter. Well, the same cannot be said about Scottie Scheffler. Losing important formative rounds is surely disappointing for a player of his stature. And when you break unwanted records on the way, that’s worse.

After Saturday’s Foursomes loss, Scottie Scheffler is now the first world no. 1 to ever lose their first three matches. He lost Friday’s foursome, where he was paired with Russell Henley, to Ludvig Aberg and Matt Fitzpatrick (5 & 3). In the afternoon, he and JJ Spaun‘s pair lost 3 & 2 to the duo of Jon Rahm and Sepp Straka.

As a matter of fact, these results ended up breaking more unwanted records for him. This was the worst Friday showing by a world No. 1 in 23 years. On top of that, he earned the title of remaining winless in his last 6 Ryder Cup matches, earning only one point through them.

This comes in contrast to Tiger Woods‘ Ryder Cup record. Away from team settings, Woods’ records go unmatched. He was able to elevate golf to a new level in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Yet, Woods’s Ryder Cup record tells a completely different story. Across eight appearances, he was part of just one winning team. As per stats, he won only 35% of his matches. Comparatively, Scheffler has won 21% of his Ryder Cup matches (2 of 9). So, in retrospect, Tiger emerges as the better one.

When one looks at foursomes play, Woods could muster a win in just four of 14 matches, and lost nine. Scheffler, on the other hand, did not play any foursomes in 2021, lost both of them in 2023, and this year, lost one and tied in another.

For the second day’s Foursome session, Scheffler was paired up with Russell Henley again. The duo went against Robert MacIntyre & Viktor Hovland, and initially put up a stronger fight, battling until the 18th hole. However, Scheffler made a critical error on the 18th with a poor wedge shot, ultimately leading to their loss 1 down and extending his winless streak at the Ryder Cup.

Such questionable performance from elite players like Woods and Scheffler makes one wonder the actual reason behind it. A simple and direct answer could be that they don’t do well when put in a team. Woods had a reputation for being closed off, focusing on his individual play rather than helping others. And that attitude took him to newer heights in golf. But when it comes to Ryder Cups, he was often very clear. It was not Woods’ priority.

His record in pair matches is 9-19-1, and he played with 14 different partners in his Ryder Cup journey. Within that, he secured a win just with Davis Love III (2-1-0). Scheffler couldn’t even do that. His best results in pair settings are ties.

But Scheffler’s personality is different from that of Woods. “I’d like to think that I’m not difficult to pair with people,” said Scheffler in his pre-tournament news conference. Then why is he faltering? Paul McGinley presented a probable answer for this. “It’s a different mindset. Scottie Scheffler is a marathon runner, 72 holes, brilliant. Match play is a different dynamic,” he said on USA Network’s television coverage.

But that doesn’t really make much sense. A 72-hole tournament is just four 18-hole contests, and Scheffler has repeatedly shown he can deliver in those areas. He won two majors this year and had 6 PGA Tour victories, the latest of which came last week at the Procore Championship. Moreover, in his only three WGC-Match Play appearances from 2021 to 2023, he finished second, first, and fourth, compiling an impressive 16-3-2 record.

These show that he thrives in head-to-head formats. Let us then look at the Ryder Cup itself. In the singles round, Scheffler has played Rahm twice, where he won once and halved the other. Completely different from his team-based performance. Tiger Woods also excelled with 4-2-2 in singles.

So maybe Scheffler is not made for a team-based setting?

Is Scottie Scheffler not made for team settings?

The answer to that can be up for debate. Moreover, it is too early in Scottie Scheffler’s career to make such a judgment. But there is no harm in looking at the data. On Friday, his foursome performance gave a -0.32 strokes-gained figure while his partner Russell Henley struggled even more at -1.33. That combination left them unable to build momentum.

Then, in the afternoon fourball, Scheffler again hovered around average, failing to convert putts longer than 22 inches, though he did finish strong with birdies on the last two holes. His partner in that match, JJ Spaun, also underperformed with -0.84 strokes gained. All this data highlights that the blame doesn’t solely lie on Scheffler. He is not being aided by strong partner play.

The pattern emerges clearly when looking beyond the Ryder Cup. Across two Presidents Cups (2022 and 2024), Scheffler posted an overall record of 3-5-1. While his fourball record (2-1-0) shows promise, he continued struggling in foursomes (1-3-0). That contrast raises questions about his adaptability to alternate-shot formats, where chemistry, timing, and trust in a partner are critical.

Another reason could be that when he entered the Ryder Cup, he was aware that he would be expected to act as a talisman for his team. That pressure might have crushed him. Whatever the reason be, Scottie Scheffler has atleast in one area, broken Tiger Woods’s record.