Players Championship: Scottie Scheffler discovers his putting form before Sawgrass defense

U.S. Open champion Windham Clark probably agreed with Scottie Scheffler after he won last week's Arnold Palmer Invitational when he said, “If he starts putting really well, it's going to be borderline unfair.” best expressed.

Scheffler, ranked No. 1 in the world, sent a shocking message to his rivals with a five-stroke victory, the biggest since Tiger Woods won the tournament in 2012. As much as it was due to his excellent work, it was also due to his skill with the putter. From tee to green.

It was the American's first win on the PGA Tour since the prestigious Players Championship title last March, and he once again came out on top in many statistical ball-striking categories, but the intriguing What stood out was his performance on the green.

On Sunday, Scheffler made 16 putts from inside 10 feet, all of them holed out. That allowed him to finish his week within five of his putters for just his third time in his career.

He was also the only player to post a bogey-free final round at Florida's notoriously tough Bay Hill Course, and his 6-under-par 66 was seven strokes better than the field's average.

The 2022 Masters champion said, “There was a lot of buzz about my game, so I'm glad I came here with a good mental attitude and was able to perform well under pressure.” A face of persistent interrogation.

“It's not that I've been a bad putter throughout my career. I've just had some tough times.”

It was Scheffler's seventh PGA Tour win and perfectly prepared him for this week's return to TPC Sawgrass in Florida for his 50th play in the Major Players Championship.

The 27-year-old was similarly dominant when he won the Players by five strokes 12 months ago. This was his sixth win in 13 months. However, as more attention was paid to Scheffler's putting stroke, further victories did not materialize.

But despite his troubles with the “Texas Wedge,” Scheffler recorded 17 top-10 finishes in 2023, the most since Vijay Singh in 2005, and the most since The Players in 2023. , finishing outside the top 10 just four times in 19 tournaments.

Scheffler led numerous ball-striking statistical categories and finished the season with the seventh-lowest scoring average in PGA Tour history. The top six spots belong to Woods. He achieved this despite being 162nd in the putting ranking.

The start of this year followed a similar trend. Despite working with renowned British putting guru Phil Kenyon right before the Ryder Cup last September, Scheffler finished in the top 10 in four tournaments in 2024, with just 144 putts. It was rank.

But he feels his work with Kenyon, who also coached British major winners Justin Rose and Matt Fitzpatrick, is starting to pay off.

Scheffler told BBC Sport: “We hired Phil late last year and we saw results quite early on in our relationship. I'm excited about the work we've been doing.”

“My main focus was definitely just improving my putting, and the putting stats are interesting.

“Every year, in the offseason, I try to have one thing to focus on to improve. Some years it was staying in the gym, some years it was hitting the ball. And last year, I tried to have one thing to focus on to improve. The next thing I did was putt.

“I’m always going to work on everything, so it’s nice to have something to put a little bit of extra effort into.”

In an interview with Golf Magic a few months after the partnership began, Kenyon said: “One of the things I've tried to do is simplify a lot of things, tell him some of the things he's really good at, and then provide some simple solutions that are relevant to the problem.” Some things I think could be improved.

“His struggles have been well documented by many, but if he can putt well, he's a great golfer.”

The rest of the PGA Tour is also keenly aware of what an improved Scheffler will do to their chances.

As Clark said, “If he starts having positive results every week, it's going to be really hard to win.”