Scottie Scheffler annihilated the field at TPC Craig Ranch last year. The #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). Scheffler won by eight last year, the second-largest margin of victory in tournament (10/Sam Snead/1957). The 20-time PGA TOUR winner has successfully defended his title three times on TOUR: 2023 WM Phoenix Open, 2024 THE PLAYERS Championship, and 2025 Memorial Tournament presented by Workday.”
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Scheffler is sitting at T2 at TPC Craig Ranch after the end of the third round this year. With a score of 19-under par, he is two strokes behind Si Woo Kim on the leaderboard. The #1 is also tied with Wyndham Clark, who bled through a tough round on Saturday to finish at the top with him. It will be a tall mountain to climb for the four-time major winner.
However, this is a playing field he’s far too familiar with. Scheffler has won far too many titles, coming off second place in the last year and a half on the PGA Tour. He holds an impeccable record of claiming victories after finishing 54 holes at such positions. So it won’t come as a surprise if the 20x PGA Tour champion makes it 21 by Sunday evening.
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. However, that might be something he won’t be able to achieve for the next few years.
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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 #1 would also be eager to get close to Woods’ record of most successful title defenses in the 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.
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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, the #1 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.
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