-
Paolo Uggetti, ESPN
PINEHURST, NC – Scotty Scheffler had nowhere else to vent his frustrations. So after his tee shot on the 18th hole went left and landed on the green, Schaefer grabbed his driver and threw it to the ground. His voice was followed by a stunned silence from the Pinehurst gallery. For Scheffler, it wasn’t enough. He grabbed the tee and threw it in disgust.
It was that kind of day for the world No. 1 player.
After opening with a 1-over 71 on Thursday, Scheffler fell victim to Pinehurst’s No. 2 devil’s green, carding two bogeys, one double-bogey and zero birdies (for the first time in 168 rounds) to finish with a 74 on the 5th and out of the 2022 PGA Championship. Later, he was in danger of missing out on a major for the first time.
“It was definitely a grind,” Scheffler said. “Yesterday I felt like I played really well and got a lot out of my game. I feel like I’ve done a good job this year. But today was kind of the opposite.”
Scheffler still has a stellar approach game, getting balls down the field, but his short game and pitching fail. Nowhere is that more evident than on the par-5 fifth hole.
After a 322-yard drive, Scheffler attempted to attack the left pin on the green with two shots. Even though the ball lands on the ground, it immediately hangs off the green and into the fairway below the hole. His first attempt at a chip on the green didn’t make it and rolled to his feet. He missed the flag and played the second well, and that went over the green. When the putt for bogey missed the hole, all Scheffler could do was scoff at the odds.
“That’s part of the secret of the sandlots. You go down there and if you have a shot, it’s a chance to draw,” Scheffler said. “This golf course can be unpredictable at times, and it’s probably gotten better the last couple of days…but it’s my job not to hit it in there like I did.”
Scheffler said after the round that playing a course as tough as No. 2 is usually “fun,” but admitted he doesn’t like struggling to play well to score on the tough event.
“It’s not fun to play poor golf, but I like the challenge,” Scheffler said. “The unexpectedness of the natives probably affected me a little.”
Throughout the day, Scheffler’s frustration took many forms. At the par-3 17th, his shot didn’t miss the pin and instead stayed left, landing on the greenside rather than the fairway. When struck, Scheffler’s immediate reaction was to apply himself to third man.
“Probably the worst hit I’ve ever seen,” he said aloud.
The struggles came down to the greens, where Scheffler lost 3 shots on the green. At one point, on the 15th hole, another missed putter sent him flying through the air like a club and landing on the green.
“I was looking at the break on the greens,” Scheffler said. “I couldn’t hit the bottom to get a good look.”
To say that Scheffler’s day was no different would be an understatement. After the round, he said fatigue could affect his preparation for this tournament and he said he would take time to assess whether playing a week earlier was worth it. At Augusta, where he has now won twice, he didn’t play a week ago.
“There was definitely a little bit of an aspect of fatigue, but I was ready to play,” Scheffler said. “Maybe I wasn’t as ready as I could have been on Thursday this week.”
While Scheffler said he doesn’t think he’ll make the weekend 5, he’s shown time and time again that even without a great game, he can rise to the top. If he makes the cut at Pinehurst, it wouldn’t be a shock to see him climb back up the leaderboard.