Scottie Scheffler’s unthinkable (but very real) putting turnaround : A genuine golf dynasty in the making

If someone had told us a few weeks ago that Scottie Scheffler would be the best putter at a top event in world golf, not many would have believed it. In fact, we covered his putting struggles here not too long ago. In a nutshell, Scheffler was one of the worst putters on the PGA Tour and one of the best (if not the best) at everything else.

After the Genesis Invitational, Rory McIlroy said he would like to see Scottie Scheffler try a mallet putter, and a week later, the Texan (New Jersey native though) showed up on the practice green at Bay Hill with a TaylorMade Spider Tour X (mallet) putter. Coincidence? That’s what Scheffler said:

“My coach Randy joked about that at home, because he had already thought about it… I did hear that he said that, and it was just kind of funny timing.”

Either way, the fact is that Scottie Scheffler is taking a different approach to his putting at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, and boy, has it paid off. There is no doubt that it is a work in progress, but the “progress” has been immediate.

Scottie Scheffler’s putting at the Arnold Palmer Invitational

Scottie finished the first round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational with no apparent change, losing nearly 1.6 strokes with his putting and using 1.80 putts per green in regulation. However, the turnaround was so sharp  on day two that his caddie must have gotten dizzy watching from his back.

On Friday, Scheffler had positive putting numbers for the first time in many rounds, as he gained 0.537 strokes and used only 1.57 putts per green in regulation. He also made some impressive putts, including a 45-footer for birdie on the 15th and a 24-footer for eagle on the 12th.

On the moving day, Scheffler’s putting was completely different. No less than 1.5 putter-in-hand gain strokes, 1.40 putts per green in regulation and only 26 putts used to finish the round. Those are numbers well above the tournament average, and coming from him, they seemed like the stuff of legend.

In addition, Scheffler equaled and surpassed his personal record for one-putts during his PGA Tour career. His previous mark was seven consecutive one-putts, which he matched between the 12th and 18th holes of the third round. This Sunday, he extended his record to nine consecutive one-putts by adding the first two holes of the fourth round.

As a result, Scheffler has led the tournament since the second round and is well on his way to his seventh PGA Tour victory. Through 11 holes of the fourth round, Scheffler is 12-under par for the tournament, four strokes ahead of Wyndham Clark.

Although his participation in the Arnold Palmer Invitational is not yet over, it’s safe to say that this is Scottie Scheffler’s best putting performance in a long time. So far, he is averaging 2.3 strokes gained putting (best in the tournament!), 1.57 putts per green in regulation (3rd) and 25.20 putts per round (3rd).

“Sticking to my process” Scheffler said, talking about what he is working on “and doing a really good job of not letting things bother me. That’s kind of been my main goal this week, not trying to be perfect, just go out there and hit solid putts and see what happens.”

What happens is that, if Scottie Scheffler can keep up this pace with the putter, we could be looking at another anthological dynasty in world golf.