The PGA TOUR is on island time this Tuesday morning in Albany.
There is nothing to drive on the driving range. It’s crowded with amateurs, not pros, getting ready for their pro-am on Wednesday. The press is waiting in large numbers for Tiger Woods to arrive for his news conference at 10 a.m. Apart from that, it’s difficult to predict when a TOUR event will start, it’s 48 hours away.
For the past eight years, the Hero World Challenge at The Woods has been a combination of golf competition and vacation for twenty of the top players in the world, held in the Caribbean. About a month away from The Sentry now is a time to experiment rather than struggle.
“This week is off,” stated Matt Fitzpatrick.
Except, of course, if you’re Scottie Scheffler.
Nestled in the far right corner of the practice putting green, the world No. 1 is a good hundred yards away from the media center where Woods is scheduled to make his appearance. He arrived before Woods starting his press conference and remained there until the end, placing his shot from the same distance. For over two hours, Scheffler toiled on 10-foot putts while Phil Kenyon, the recently hired putting coach, and caddie Ted Scott kept a close eye on him.
Scheffler’s putter consistently prevented him from making an exceptional season into a generational one in a season that smashed statistics ball-striking records. He hasn’t missed a cut in sixteen months, has won twice, and has recorded 17 top-10s—the highest since Vijay Singh’s 18 in 2005. But in a way, it seemed like he fell short.
This week served as a reminder of Scheffler’s capabilities when all of his tools are in action. Additionally, if the putting success is sustained, 2024 may be much better.
“I’m really happy with my performance today,” said Scheffler, who won the Hero World Challenge with a final-round score of 68 at 20-under 268. For the week, he came in sixth in Strokes Gained: Putting. There were none of his three-putts.
Compared to his averages, it’s a significant improvement. This season, he placed 161st in SG: Putting. Scheffler lost out on several opportunities to win because of his putting. Scheffler gained 20.7 strokes over the field from the tee to the green in the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday, which was the second-best ball striking performance on the PGA TOUR in the previous 20 years. Nevertheless, he trailed Victor Hovland by one shot at the conclusion. This was as a result of his dropping 8.5 putts to the field.
Despite placing 71st out of 72 players in the putting competition, he took third place in the Charles Schwab Challenge. At the Masters, the Genesis Scottish Open, and the AT&T Byron Nelson, identical stories unfolded.
Scheffler started the TOUR Championship, his final appearance of the season, ranked first in the FedExCup and 10-under in the Starting Strokes format. This time, he was defeated by Hovland by 16 shots. In putting, Scheffer finished last in the field.
Those scars are difficult to heal. However, there are grounds to think that his Albany success is durable and not just a one-week anomaly.
Scheffler started collaborating with Kenyon before the Ryder Cup. Five of the twenty competitors in the Hero World Challenge were Kenyon students.
Kenyon saw that Scheffler frequently heeled and pulled putts because he was becoming too carefree with his putting stroke. With Scheffler’s full swing, it was a problem in college, but it was something he never cared about on the greens.
The two practiced finding the ideal mix of athleticism and balance. Make sure your mechanisms work soundly, but avoid becoming overly mechanical. Don’t attempt to be flawless; instead, concentrate on your setting. Kenyon’s coaching philosophy advocates for a flexible approach. It’s one of the reasons prominent athletes like Max Homa, Matt Fitzpatrick, and Justin Rose have brought him on.
“Phil is incredibly intelligent. He is without a doubt the most informed person I have ever spoken to about putting. Some people I have spoken to claim that working with Phil hasn’t been at all technical, while others claim it has been overly technical. He therefore has a wide range, and if you as a player describe what you prefer, I believe he can do anything.” Homa said.
Scheffler’s caddy, Scott, saw results right away. Scheffler had to continue drilling until the issue was resolved automatically after it was identified. Scheffler worked through the layout and physics at the Marco Simone Golf & Country Club putting green for hours on end. Between the TOUR Championship and the Hero World Challenge, it was the only tournament he participated in. And even though he tried to avoid thinking about golf for the most part of that time, it offered him the necessary time to hone his skills. Kenyon paid him another visit in Dallas in order to work out any discrepancies.
Scott remarked, “He just kind of went off the rails a bit and needed some guidance.”
Scheffler continued, “I’m much clearer about what I need to be working on.”
This week at Albany, he and Kenyon had several meetings. Although they had never competed in a Ryder Cup together previously, this was their first event in a stroke-play style, which is almost equivalent to all of Scheffler’s golf plays. Additionally, he replaced the blade on his Scotty Cameron putter with one made by Logan Olson, a lesser-known custom putter maker.
All is well for the time being. Despite not making much of anything on Sunday, he finished sixth in the putting competition. However, in the decisive round, he didn’t have to do particularly well. Overnight, he maintained a three-shot lead. It was simply a matter of keeping it on the rails coming in after he scored birdies on 6 and 7 to get to 18-under. With the exception of 2 putts on the driveable 7th par-4 and 14th holes, he two-putted every other hole. In his bogey-free round, he didn’t hit a par putt further than 3 feet.
It’s the kind of commanding dominance Scheffler has become renowned for since his meteoric rise in 2022. Scheffler has taken over as the world’s number one after switching positions with Jon Rahm. Over the previous 22 months, he has been in the top spot for 62 weeks. In that period, he has won 7 times internationally.
Additionally, the game appears simple or even boring when he’s playing. Whether he would drive it well or hit his irons near was hardly a dramatic matter. Since 2000, he has had the best ball-striking season statistically for anyone who isn’t Tiger Woods. All that had to be determined was if he would make the putts.
Scott stated, “I don’t see the putting being a problem going forward.”
Scheffler increased his on-field efficiency this season, starting just nine of his 24 games. He finished no lower than 12th in 3 of those races, one of which he won this week. In a month, he will likely start as the favorite at The Sentry. Scheffler thinks that having more time to polish between now and then was essential to this most recent development.
“I’ve always been a guy who works extremely hard, sometimes to the point where I feel like I’m working almost too hard. Therefore, it seemed as though I sometimes focused too much on it when I was having trouble with something, like my putting last year. I was really good about putting my clubs away and thinking about other things when the offseason rolled around. More than anything, the rigors of a season may exhaust you. That may have happened to me briefly last year.” Scheffler said.
It’s concerning for the rest of the PGA TOUR if the putting also gets boring and the result is set in stone, as is frequently the case with Scheffler’s other aspects of his game.
“Nobody seems shocked that he figured it out, I guess. Maybe a little afraid, because you don’t want him to putt too well. That will therefore be a temporary setback.” Homa said.
