Scottie Scheffler had every reason to panic midway through the second round at Le Golf National, but he never did.
The world number one took an uncharacteristic driveway to the right of the seventh fairway, where the ball came to rest in the fluffy weeds. The tall, dense grass completely covered the ball, and Scheffler had no choice but to smash it out. But because of a bad lie, the big-swinging Texan only managed to hit the ball four feet in front of him, a shocking sight rarely seen in golf. His second shot landed in even taller grass, making things even more difficult.
“I got my sand wedge out and swung it really hard. I knew it was going to come in, so I was surprised,” Scheffler said of his second shot on the seventh hole.
“My next shot, I hit it about 70 yards out in the thicker part. I knew I was hitting it in a pretty bad spot because I’d practiced there and the water was low. That’s where the water pools. So I knew it was going to be thick. I knew I shouldn’t have hit it there, but I did anyway.”
Scheffler found the healthiest hay on the golf course but paid a heavy price, as a double bogey on the par-4 seventh hole dropped him to 2 under par in the championship prize and 10 strokes behind the leader.
But he didn’t panic.
Photo by Emmanuel Dunant/AFP via Getty Images
Instead he continued to persevere.
“On a golf course like this, where scores are just going down, it can be hard to keep up,” Scheffler said.
“I know that if I play this golf course with patience I can post low scores, but if I panic and start to push myself too hard I can quickly get into trouble.”
Scheffler made the turn and then calmed the storm, scoring four birdies on the back nine to rejoin the mix at six under. He’s still five strokes behind Xander Schauffele, Tommy Fleetwood and Hideki Matsuyama, but he’s done an admirable job of halving the deficit he faced.
“We needed to do something to get back into the tournament and we did a good job,” Scheffler said.
“I think it’s an internal battle to stay patient.”
He quickly made two birdies on the par-4 10th and par-3 11th holes, the latter a 26-footer, while his other two par-breakers came on the par-5 14th and par-4 17th holes.
“I’d like to be in the lead, but like I said, I’m proud of the back nine,” Scheffler added.
“I’m feeling good again. I was way back, so it was good to just keep hitting good holes and make some putts. I’m definitely looking to keep this momentum going over the next few days.”
To keep that momentum going, Scheffler will have to stay focused and stay in the moment. Scheffler has done really well in that regard throughout the 2024 season, winning six times on the PGA Tour. But the reigning Masters champion admitted he lost focus a little at times, especially on the seventh hole, when his round briefly took a turn for the worst.
“That shot I hit on the seventh hole, I think something distracted me and I was able to focus a little bit more,” Scheffler said.
“It was just an uncharacteristic swing for me. Then I hit it on the haystack so you never know what’s going to happen. I knew if I hit it there it was going to be pretty bad.”
There’s no doubt that Scheffler was in a dicey situation on the seventh hole, but unlike other golfers, the world number one bounced back and refocused on himself and his game. Now, he’s unlikely to win a medal, but at least he has a chance, something that seemed impossible after he walked off the seventh green.
Jack Mirko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation Playing Through. Follow For more golf articles, follow us on Twitter Jack Mirko In the same way.
