Scottie Scheffler's ball on Friday on the 18th hole at Memorial Park.
Golf Channel
Scottie Scheffler at least could kid. What had just gone down on Memorial Park GC’s 18th green had at least teed up some humor for him.
Minutes after a shocking three-putt from 7 feet, which included a careless miss from about 2, stopped his PGA Tour-record rounds-under-par streak at 28, Scheffler was asked by a reporter on Friday whether he had suffered “a little lapse maybe.” A fair question, but he said he hadn’t. Nothing like that actually.
“You watch me a lot, so that happens a lot to me.”
From his cheek, he then removed his tongue.
So yeah, Scheffler thinks he’ll be fine. Thirty-six holes are left at the Texas Children’s Houston Open, and Scheffler’s just four back of leader Tony Finau. Win, and he extends another streak: He’s won his past two events (the Arnold Palmer Invitational and the Players Championship). He still shot even-par 70 on Friday. He’s still the World No. 1. The sun, at last check, will come up tomorrow.
But yeah, the scene on 18 was ugly.
To that point, the round was a little funky. Five birdies. But three bogeys. And water balls on the 14th and 16th holes, the latter of which induced an overhead club throw into the ground. But Scheffler was still two-under after 17, and on the 492-yard, par-4 18th, he nearly finished at three-under after his ball struck from the right-greenside bunker grazed the cup. From there, he had the 7-footer left for par. Seconds earlier, from a nearby spot, playing partner Peter Malnati had dropped the right-to-left putt.
But Scheffler missed. It lipped out on the right. Notably, as his ball rolled to the hole, someone in the Texas crowd shouted toward the former University of Texas golfer, “Hook ’em, Horns, Scottie!” Scheffler then took six steps toward the ball that was now about 2 feet away. He stood over it for 3 seconds.
From a foot away, Scheffler then made his seventh stroke. He was done. And the murmurs started. Was that the first time he’d not been under par since the final round of the Tour Championship, played last August? Yes. Was that his first double bogey in his last 218 holes? Yes, according to the PGA Tour. Was the conversation going to begin anew about his putting struggles? Maybe.
Was the short miss stunning?
Yes, according to two Golf Channel analysts and former pros.
“Well, it’s a total loss of concentration,” Brad Faxon said on the broadcast. “There’s anger in there, as well. You never see Scottie Scheffler that upset where it affects the next shot. Not a terrible putt there. Saw how much Malnati’s broke. And then just right here, never thought about marking it. It’s almost painful to watch.”
A replay of the putt was then shown.
“We were just talking about how we’ve never seen Scottie Scheffler do anything like that,” Faxon said. “We never used to see Tiger [Woods] or Jack [Nicklaus] do anything like that. It’s just so uncharacteristic of Scottie. He usually has a pretty good demeanor.”
Said Brandel Chamblee: “Well, look, it’s so unusual to see a player of his caliber not to get angry. Of course, everybody gets angry. Saw Tiger Woods get angry a million times, but he always gathered himself to where he wasn’t going to take anything for granted.
“So to see him give away a shot so easily like that — look, if he loses this tournament by a shot, he will certainly rue that moment.”
Maybe. As for Scheffler’s thoughts?
Go back to the quip. At least to those asking him questions, he was good.
To Golf Channel reporter Damon Hack, Scheffler said the day had been challenging. The winds were tough. He called the putt a “sloppy” mistake. He said he hit it too quickly. He thought it might have grazed something.
“It’s one of those things late in the day,” Scheffler told Hack, “you always have to be careful; you never know what happens around the cup, especially on 18.”
Later, to other reporters, Scheffler said the miss was due to “mental fatigue.” But he’d rest Friday night. Nothing would change. His prep for Saturday’s third round would be the same.
“My game feels like it’s in a good spot,” he said.
A few minutes later, before walking away from the reporter hurd, Scheffler smiled.
Just as he started his interrogation.
A look at Scottie Scheffler’s even-par round
1st 521-yard par-4 1st (bogey) Shot 1: 283 yards to the left rough, 230 yards to the hole Shot 2: 208 yards to the left side of the fairway, 80 feet, 5 inches to the hole Shot 3: 64 feet, 2 inches to the left side of the green, 16 feet, 6 inches to the hole Shot 4: Putt 17 feet, 2 inches, 11 inches to the hole Shot 5: In the hole
2nd 158-yard par-3 (par) Shot 1: 144 yards to the right side of the green, 46 feet, 8 inches to the hole Shot 2: Putt 41 feet, 11 inches, 5 feet, 7 inches to the hole Shot 3: In the hole
3rd 576-yard par-5 (birdie) Shot 1: 348 yards to the right rough, 232 yards to the hole Shot 2: 209 yards to the left side of the fairway, 75 feet, 1 inch to the hole Shot 3: 72 feet, 3 inches to the right side of the green, 2 feet, 10 inches to the hole Shot 4: In the hole
4th 493-yard par-4 (birdie) Shot 1: 277 yards to the right side of the fairway, 218 yards to the hole Shot 2: 228 yards to the left rough, 43 feet, 11 inches to the hole Shot 3: In the hole
5th 452-yard par-4 (par) Shot 1: 324 yards to the right side of the fairway, 132 yards to the hole Shot 2: 122 yards to the right side of the green, 28 feet, 4 inches to the hole Shot 3: Putt 26 feet, 9 inches, 19 inches to the hole Shot 4: In the hole
6th 425-yard par-4 (par) Shot 1: 293 yards to the left side of the fairway, 130 yards to the hole Shot 2: 129 yards to the left side of the green, 14 feet, 4 inches to the hole Shot 3: Putt 16 feet, 3 inches, 2 feet, 2 inches to the hole Shot 4: In the hole
7th 210-yard par-3 (par) Shot 1: 209 yards to the left side of the green, 9 feet, 3 inches to the hole Shot 2: Putt 11 feet, 2 inches, 18 inches to the hole Shot 3: In the hole
8th 601-yard par-5 (birdie) Shot 1: 312 yards to the left rough, 293 yards to the hole Shot 2: 273 yards to the right side of the fairway, 63 feet, 0 inches to the hole Shot 3: 60 feet, 4 inches to the right side of the green, 3 feet, 11 inches to the hole Shot 4: In the hole
9th 157-yard par-3 (par) Shot 1: 152 yards to the left side of the green, 17 feet, 3 inches to the hole Shot 2: Putt 20 feet, 2 inches, 2 feet, 7 inches to the hole Shot 3: In the hole
10th 445-yard par-4 (par) Shot 1: 335 yards to the left side of the fairway, 109 yards to the hole Shot 2: 100 yards to the right side of the green, 26 feet, 3 inches to the hole Shot 3: Putt 26 feet, 5 inches, 9 inches to the hole Shot 4: In the hole
11th 191-yard par-3 (bogey) Shot 1: 185 yds to the left side of the fairway, 25 feet, 2 inches to the hole Shot 2: 33 feet, 5 inches to the left side of the green, 7 feet, 11 inches to the hole Shot 3: Putt 10 feet, 7 inches, 2 feet, 5 inches to the hole Shot 4: In the hole
12th 489-yard par-4 (birdie) Shot 1: 362 yards to the right side of the fairway, 127 yards to the hole Shot 2: 127 yards to the left side of the green, 2 feet, 10 inches to the hole Shot 3: In the hole
13th 405-yard par-4 (par) Shot 1: 294 yds to left rough, 113 yds to hole Shot 2: 102 yds to right fairway, 52 ft 0 in. to hole Shot 3: 50 ft 4 in. to right green, 22 in. to hole Shot 4: In the hole
14th 488-yard par-4 (bogey) Shot 1: 296 yards to the water on the left, 193 yards to the hole Shot 2: Penalty Drop in the left rough, 193 yards to the hole Shot 3: 211 yards to the right rough, 54 feet, 8 inches to the hole Shot 4: 52 feet, 10 inches to the right side of the green, 2 feet, 3 inches to the hole Shot 5: In the hole
15th 142-yard par-3 (par) Shot 1: 149 yards to the right side of the green, 20 feet, 10 inches to the hole Shot 2: Putt 21 feet, 11 inches, 11 inches to the hole Shot 3: In the hole
16th 569-yard par-5 (par) Shot 1: 358 yards to the left side of the rough, 209 yards to the hole Shot 2: 214 yards to the water on the left, 83 feet, 5 inches to the hole Shot 3: Penalty Drop in the left rough, 75 feet, 11 inches to the hole Shot 4: 67 feet, 5 inches to the right side of the green, 9 feet, 3 inches to the hole Shot 5: In the hole
17th 391-yard par-4 (birdie) Shot 1: 228 yards to the right side of the fairway, 152 yards to the hole Shot 2: 152 yards to the left side of the green, 4 feet, 7 inches to the hole Shot 3: In the hole
18th 492-yard par-4 (double bogey) Shot 1: 304 yards to the left side of the fairway, 193 yards to the hole Shot 2: 185 yards to the right greenside bunker, 48 feet, 5 inches to the hole Shot 3: 54 feet, 0 inches to the right side of the green, 5 feet, 9 inches to the hole Shot 4: Putt 7 feet, 4 inches, 23 inches to the hole Shot 5: Putt 2 feet, 11 inches, 12 inches to the hole Shot 6: In the hole
Nick Piastowski is a Senior Editor at Golf.com and Golf Magazine. In his role, he is responsible for editing, writing and developing stories across the golf space. And when he’s not writing about ways to hit the golf ball farther and straighter, the Milwaukee native is probably playing the game, hitting the ball left, right and short, and drinking a cold beer to wash away his score. You can reach out to him about any of these topics — his stories, his game or his beers — at nick.piastowski@golf.com.
