Scheffler Needs A Mickelson, An Epic Collapse On The DP World Tour, And A PGA Tour - Saudi PIF 'Update'

Scottie Scheffler did the thing again. His win at the Memorial marks five wins over his last eight starts, which only adds to the idea that he truly is Mr. Inevitable, but his latest victory also proves that he may not ever be stopped. We're talking about a guy who became a father for the first time and got arrested in front of the entire world over the last month and still wins golf tournaments.

Jun 9, 2024; Dublin, Ohio, USA; Meredith Scudder, Bennett Scheffler, Scottie Scheffler, Jack Nicklaus and Barbara Nicklaus (left to right) pose for a photograph with the trophy for the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club. Mandatory Credit: Adam Cairns-USA TODAY Sports

Talking about Scheffler winning golf tournaments has almost gotten stale at this point, so it's time we talk more big picture, and how we need a Phil Mickelson - Tiger Woods situation to unfold to add some juice to the historic run we're all witnessing at the moment.

Speaking of historic, Sebastian Soderberg was on the wrong side of history on Sunday as he suffered a collapse on the DP World Tour that is legitimately hard to fathom. It's a true bad car wreck that you simply can't look away from the situation.

Last, and certainly least, the PGA Tour provided an update about its ongoing negotiations with the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) that should cause the entire sports world to collectively roll its eyes.

Another week, another Scheffler win, another edition of Par Talk.

Scottie Scheffler Needs Himself A Phil Mickelson

Scottie Scheffler won the Memorial by a shot over Collin Morikawa. Other than noting that he didn't have nearly his best stuff on Sunday with a final round score of 2-over, there really isn't much to be said about the win. What we're seeing from Scheffler right now is the closest thing we've seen to prime Tiger Woods, and we've been saying that for over a month now.

Over his last eight starts, Scheffler has been beaten by a total of nine players and added five trophies to his mantle. It's unfathomable.

The only, and I mean only, ‘knock’ against Scheffler is that some fans, even amid his historic run, don't view him as an exciting player to watch. The longtime golf fan out there, especially anyone who is an above-average player themselves, looks at Scheffler in awe. They see his consistency in every facet of the game mixed with a unique swing and are left shaking their heads in disbelief, not being able to comprehend how the man is doing what he's doing.

The casual fan may need a bit more juice to be fully intrigued by Scheffler, which is fair.

The mind of every golf fan over the age of 25 or so has had their brain melted by Tiger Woods highlights. Those memories not only include an unlimited supply of great golf shots, but intense fist pumps, screaming, and a visible killer instinct. 

There will only ever be one Tiger Woods, of course, but Scheffler goes about his business quite differently than the big cat, which is why he needs his own version of Phil Mickelson to step up even more so than Woods did.

Mickelson is an all-time great, but he was the clear-cut No. 2 player behind Woods in that generation. The important aspect, though, is that he was always there to challenge Woods.

Scheffler needs a consistent challenger to emerge to create that rivalry feel that only adds to the entertainment factor of the sport. 

It will be a waiting game to see if Scheffler's version of a Mickelson comes to be. Right now, the sample size is too small to circle Morikawa as that player despite him being there down the stretch at the Masters and again this week. Plus, we're going to need to see one player specifically get the best of Scheffler a time or two to create that rivalry feel to the situation.

Sebastian Soderberg Reminds Us All That Golf Is Very Hard

While Sunday was kind to Scheffler yet again, the same can't be said for Sebastian Soderberg in his homeland of Sweden in the Volvo Car Scandinavian Mixed event over on the DP World Tour.

Soderberg began the final round with an eight-shot lead and, despite shooting one-over on his opening nine holes on Sunday, had the title all but wrapped up. Until he didn't.

A pair of bogeys on holes 13 and 14 made things interesting for Soderberg down the stretch, yet he still only needed a par on the final hole to secure the victory. The hole began as planned with the 33-year-old finding the fairway off of the tee, but then found a greenside bunker with his approach shot. What came next was painful to watch.

Soderberg was left with a 25-foot putt for par to win the event, but missed it, leaving him with a putt from 1 foot, 3 inches to save bogey and go into a playoff with fellow Swede Linn Grant. He proceeded to hit every inch of the hole with his bogey putt, except the bottom of the cup.

Grant deserves a ton of credit after firing a round of 7-under on Sunday, but Soderberg undoubtedly handed the tournament away down the stretch. Bad breaks happen in this dumb game, but seeing missed putts from just outside a foot is a rare occurrence.

The PGA Tour - Saudi PIF Non-Update

June 6, 2024, is beyond us, meaning that we've officially passed the one-year mark since PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan and Saudi PIF governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan sat on the set of a cable newsroom and announced a framework agreement between the two parties.

PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan has provided little to no update regarding the PGA Tour - Saudi PIF negotiations. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

A year later, and we've virtually been given zero updates regarding the ongoing negotiations between the two sides. The PGA Tour did share a press release on Saturday to provide an update regarding the situation, but ‘update’ is a strong word given it provided no details whatsoever.

The ‘update’ explained that an in-person meeting took place on June 7 and that the meeting was held in New York City while "talks between the two sides continue to accelerate."

Full stop.

Unfortunately, these are the updates we may have to get used to for quite a while longer. The year 2026 has been tossed around in serious conversation when it comes to this new-look golf world coming together, and Rory McIlroy even suggested that would be a positive timeline for things to fall into place. 

We're a year into this thing and nobody knows anything, at all.