Scotty Schaeffler hits the ball like anyone from the tee to the green, but is unhappy with his performance on 36 holes on the player.
why?
His putting.
“For example, regarding frustration, I felt I had scored better over the last two days,” Scheffler, who is currently 5 under and 6 shots, is leading.
“The amount of good putts I hit, whether it's a small misreading or not, I've just gone around the hole. [my caddy] Teddy [Scott] And I did a really good read about it, turned left a little earlier and finally returned to the right. The grain goes to the right, a gentle slope to the right, and my balls go in the opposite direction. ”
Schaeffler made the birdie another solid look in the final hole of the day, on the par 5 9th, but it didn't fall. The failure to burn the edge and transform opportunities was a common theme for the world's No. 1 spot in 2025. This reflects what Schaeffler had to endure in the first two months of 2024 ahead of last year's Arnold Palmer Invitational. Schaeffler then won the event, winning the eight-man event during the historic season.
“Last year, those were putts that go in and it seems like they're not the case in the last few weeks,” Schaeffler said.
“But I still look forward to doing a lot of good things, hitting lots of good putts and trying to climb the leaderboard over the weekend.”
Schaeffler ranks fifth in the field of strokes obtained from the approach, but was surprisingly lost to losing a stroke from the tee along the way. Nevertheless, he still gives himself plenty of chances, hitting 27 out of 36 greens so far. But he only makes nine birdies.
“You don't have to play perfect golf to win a tournament. Sometimes I lean a bit when I'm there,” Schaeffler added.
“But I'll talk a lot about it. Last year was last year. This is a completely different year.”
Schaeffler, the two-time defending champion of the week, overcomes a five-shot deficit on Sunday in last year's victory. He knows he can go back and win again, but his putter has to improve over the weekend.
The wind is expected to blow to 30 mph on Saturday.
“The golf course was definitely available for the first two days,” Schaeffler said.
“I couldn't take advantage of it the way I wanted it to be, but yeah, if I go tomorrow and Sunday, there will definitely be some opportunities if things change.”
Despite not playing as much as he likes, Schaeffler still has an outside chance to quit the feat he has no idea. Although Hercules' efforts are needed, if they can work together with putters for the first time throughout the season, Schaeffler will be there on Sunday, evoking fear in everyone else on the field.
Jack Mirco is a golf staff writer who plays SB Nation. Follow him with x @jack_milko.
