FARMINGDALE, N.Y. – The Ryder Cup has a way of turning 24 golfers who spend 51 weeks of the year selfish in their own aspirations into selfless cogs of a greater mission to help team and country win. At least, when it’s done right.

Scottie Scheffler considers himself just one of 12 Americans, on equal footing and importance with the rest of the U.S. roster. In his mind, what he does is just as impactful as what J.J. Spaun, Ben Griffin, Xander Schauffele or Justin Thomas do. It’s of no importance what he’s done in golf before or what he might do after. His matches at Bethpage Black this week count for one point, just like everyone else.

But as golf wades into its annual team competition, the internal dynamics that are inherent in every other team sport come into play. Scheffler is the U.S. Team’s superstar. What he says and what he does carry weight, particularly when he’s shown himself to be the best golfer in the world by a considerable margin. Anything less than a winning record would likely feel like a letdown.

The recent history of the Ryder Cup shows that the top player in the world rarely lives up to that billing. It’s particularly prominent on the U.S. side, but it has inhibited the Europeans as well. Since 1999, the top-ranked player in the Ryder Cup field has won just 38% of their matches, an underwhelming record of 21-28-7. Only four times in that span has the top-ranked player in the field finished with a winning record.

That’s enough of a sample size with a gaudy enough track record to suggest there’s more than simple variance. So why has it happened? And can Scheffler buck the trend?

The most infamous example of this discrepancy is Tiger Woods, who, despite his greatness in the other 51 weeks of the year, never figured out the Ryder Cup. The U.S. won just one of the eight Ryder Cups that Woods played. He won only 35% of his matches, boasting a 13-21-3 record, though singles was the exception, where Woods was 4-2-2. The problems arose when Woods was partnered up, which sparked a host of questions that were never truly answered. What type of player should Woods play with? What type of personality? Who could handle the pressure cooker that was the Woods experience?

Woods played with 16 different partners in his Ryder Cup career, but there were only four he played with more than twice. The only player he has a winning record with? Chris Riley. The two played together once in 2004 at Oakland Hills and won.

In the aftermath of Woods’ Ryder Cup days, the issues were largely chalked up to his "aura," which seeped into the minds of his playing partners, adding a layer of pressure that overwhelmed their already heightened senses.

“He’s a different kind of dude than the rest of us,” Stewart Cink said in 2008.

Scheffler has grown accustomed to the Woods comparisons. That doesn’t make him any less comfortable talking about them. Asked on Tuesday if he believes he has an aura, Scheffler said, “Not really.”

“I've had different partners over the years and have had some success. I would definitely not put myself in that category … There was some times there when (Woods) was doing nothing but winning golf tournaments and just beating the absolute crap out of people time and time again,” Scheffler said of Woods.

If wins and losses are the category we’re assessing, Scheffler belongs there. He’s won 19 times since the start of 2022, including four major championships. If Woods was a supernatural force, Scheffler is incredibly natural – a normal dude, who’s grown up in the game around the same people he’s playing with at Bethpage Black. That’s a level of comfort that most of Woods’ partners never had with him.

“I'd like to think I'm an easy guy to pair with,” Scheffler said.

Russell Henley played with Scheffler three times at last year’s Presidents Cup. There was no added pressure playing alongside him, he said. All the pressure he felt was internal. Perhaps that is the reason Scheffler can flip the trend, though he did go 0-2-2 at the 2023 Ryder Cup as the world No. 1.

“He doesn't to me,” Thomas said when asked if Scheffler has an aura, “but I also feel like I know him well enough that even if he did, I wouldn't give him that credit and let that get to his head because he's competitive and can get chirpy enough, that that's the last thing I need him knowing that if I did feel that way. I'm sure he does to some people, and rightfully so, right?”

Though Woods certainly wasn’t the only culprit of falling short of expectations as the top dog. Padraig Harrington went 0-3-1 when he was world No. 1 at the 2008 Ryder Cup. Dustin Johnson was the top-ranked player ahead of the ‘16 and ‘18 Ryder Cups and went 3-6. Scheffler was the top-ranked player at Marco Simone and didn’t win a match, going 0-2-2 with an embarrassing 9-and-7 loss mixed in there. McIlroy is one of the only success stories. He was world No. 1 in ‘12 and ’14 and went 5-3-2.

So while many are expecting an excellent week for Scheffler at Bethpage, it’s far from a lock. True to form, Scheffler doesn’t hold those same expectations.

“I don't bother with that kind of stuff because it's unimportant to me,” he said.