Scottie Scheffler’s ball striking won’t last forever – he needs to take advantage

Scottie Scheffler is world No.1 for a reason. Currently, it’s down to 13 of his clubs.

Cast your mind back to the final round of the 2022 Masters. More specifically, cast your mind back to the eventual champion on the 18th green at Augusta National.

Scheffler took four putts on his final green of the tournament, largely down to the occasion getting the better of him.

• US shock jock blasts Rickie Fowler

While that was a laughing matter thanks to having several shots in hand, his putting performance in 2023 has been far from funny.

Take a look at the 26-year-old’s key stats and you’ll find a common theme. In Strokes Gained: Total, Strokes Gained: Off the Tee, Strokes Gained: Approach the Green and Strokes Gained: Tee to Green, Scheffler is top of the tree and its not particularly close.

Put simply, from the tee box to the putting surface, there’s no one that can match Scheffler.

Things change dramatically, however, when he pulls out the short stick.

• Sergio Garcia heads Asian Tour event in Scotland

The topline putting stat, Strokes Gained, currently reads 138th. That puts Scheffler well below the tour average, but things get more jarring when you look at the numbers behind that.

From outside 25 feet, Scheffler does decidedly OK, but the closer he gets to the cup, the more difficult it becomes.

From eight feet, the PGA Tour average sits just above 53%.

After the US Open, Scheffler’s make percentage from here sits at less than 43%. That might not seem like a massive difference, but at this level, it’s costing him. A lot.

That stat is a small sample, but it paints a picture across all of his putting – things are not in a great place.

• How to get tickets to the 2024 Open Championship

While the numbers never lie, the six-time PGA Tour winner isn’t exactly passing the eye test on the greens either. On Sunday’s final round at the US Open, the world No.1 had several mid-range putts that, by his standards, were not particularly close.

However, those were an anomaly in a week where he finished tied for third and the putter started to behave slightly better. Over the four rounds, he gained 0.3 strokes on the field on the greens. It’s not much, but it’s progress.

Hopefully for him, a decent week on the greens at Los Angeles Country Club is the start of a turnaround in fortunes on the greens. Indeed, a Scotty Cameron with a slightly larger head shape might be the answer to get things moving in the right direction.

• McEwan: Money, majors and that whole mess

For his sake, I hope it is a turning point for Scheffler. As us golfers know, good things can only last so long, and the New Jersey born player’s sensational ball striking won’t last forever.

But, if he can marry up a decent putter with the rest of his bag, he’ll go on another streak like the one we saw in 2022.

Lewis Fraser As bunkered’s Performance Editor, Lewis oversees the content that’s designed to make you a better player. From the latest gear to tuition, nutrition, strategy and more, he’s the man. A graduate of the University of Stirling, Lewis joined bunkered in 2021. Formerly a caddie at Castle Stuart Golf Links, he is a member of Bathgate Golf Club where he plays off four.

Performance Editor