Scottie Scheffler hits his second shot on Sunday on the 18th hole at TPC Scottsdale.
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Scottie Scheffler overcooked his short iron on just his second shot of the day, and … we were on our way to our first S.C.O.T.T.I.E.! There were more.
On 5 at TPC Scottsdale, he ripped a putt 12 feet past the hole, and nearly into a greenside bunker. S.C.O.T.T.I.E. time!
The best S.C.O.T.T.I.E., though, came on 16, after Scheffler hooked an iron, and more than a few of the 20,000 crazies who surrounded the hole let him know that even they could do better, and his grip on the lead during Sunday’s WM Phoenix Open final round was all of a sudden looking loose. If we’re being honest, we saw an all-time S.C.O.T.T.I.E. there.
Cool, cool, cool. But what the heck is a S.C.O.T.T.I.E., you ask? Good question, and we’ll share. But first we must set things up.
Over the past year, the Texan has been on some kinda heater. Five wins, including a green jacket. World No. 1 status. It’s domination, or any of its synonyms, including being Tiger-like. But all of it’s come without some zip. Some sexiness. Scheffler is good, if not great, across the board, physically and mentally, but so are a few other players. How, then, was the 26-year-old separating himself? Well, maybe now we know. He’s been a superstar in:
Subpar
Club
Offering
Then
Texan
Is
Excellent
Or S.C.O.T.T.I.E.!
Yes, that’s a great acronym. Thank you. And yes, there’s a bit to unpack here. For one, this is greatly UNscientific. And others have shown bounce-back-ability before. Scheffler, though, does so from anywhere and everywhere, tapping into those aforementioned physical gifts, and he dusts himself off nonchalantly, as a mental giant like himself would — AND he does so rather quickly. That’s rare.
It manifested itself brilliantly on Sunday. In a GOLF.com review of all 65 of his shots through both the PGA Tour’s ShotLink leaderboard and the Golf Channel and CBS broadcasts, Scheffler had:
— Seven ‘Bad Scotties!’ (We classified this as a below-average shot.)
— 10 ‘Great Scotties!’ (We classified this as, Judge Smails would say, top notch, top notch.)
— And, most importantly, seven S.C.O.T.T.I.E.’s. Yes, all of his ‘Bad Scotties’ were soon, if not immediately, followed by ‘Great Scotties.’ On seven holes, to boot!
Here, then, are the seven (and all 65 of his shots are at the bottom of this story):
Hole 1: 424 yards, par-4 (par) Shot 1: 267 yards to left rough, 154 yds to hole Shot 2: 165 yards to over the green, 32 feet, 3 inches to hole (Bad Scottie!) Shot 3: 32 feet. 8 inches to green, 4 inches to hole (Great Scottie!) Shot 4: In the hole
Note: Starting the final round with a two-shot lead, Scheffler hit his second shot of the day over the green — then hit to 4 inches. The players within two of the top — Scheffler’s playing partners, Jon Rahm and Nick Taylor — both birdied, so the par save was big.
Hole 2, 435 yards, par-4 (birdie) Shot 1: 285 yards to right fairway bunker, 153 yards to hole (Bad Scottie!) Shot 2: 155 yards to green, 10 feet, 3 inches to hole (Great Scottie!) Shot 3: In the hole
Note: Scheffler hit into the right fairway bunker, then, after backing off his ball twice and switching clubs, he hit to 10 feet. “That is so good,” analyst Curt Byrum says on the Golf Channel broadcast. “Took a while to figure out, but he flushed that one.” His birdie gave him back his two-shot cushion.
Hole 3: 548 yards, par-5 (birdie) Shot 1: 323 yards to left rough, 235 yards to hole (Bad Scottie!) Shot 2: 245 yards to native area, 40 yards to hole Shot 3: 43 yards to green, 9 feet, 10 inches to hole Shot 4: In the hole (Great Scottie!)
Note: Scheffler hit his tee shot well left — “huge double cross,” Golf Channel analyst Arron Oberholser called it — managed to get his ball left of the green on his second shot and chipped to about 10 feet, then made that. The third S.C.O.T.T.I.E. in three holes helped him maintain his two-shot lead after Taylor and Rahm both birdied.
Hole 5: 470 yards, par-4 (par) Shot 1: 324 yards to left rough, 145 yards to hole Shot 2: 157 yards to green, 57 feet, 10 inches to hole Shot 3: Putt 69 feet, 11 inches, 11 feet, 11 inches to hole (Bad Scottie!) Shot 4: In the hole (Great Scottie!)
Note: Here the S.C.O.T.T.I.E. came on the green. Putt one, from about 70 feet away, cruised past the cup and nearly rolled into a bunker. “Huge mistake from Scheffler,” Golf Channel analyst Frank Nobilo said. Putt two went in. “Does anything faze this guy?” Oberholser asked on the broadcast.
Hole 11: 474 yards, par-4 (par) Shot 1: 293 yards to right rough, 177 yards to hole (Bad Scottie!) Shot 2: 162 yards to left fairway, 78 feet, 5 inches to hole Shot 3: 80 feet, 9 inches to green, 4 feet, 2 inches to hole (Great Scottie!) Shot 4: In the hole
Note: At this point, Taylor had pulled into a share of the lead thanks to five birdies over his first 10 holes. On 11, Scheffler hit his tee shot right, his second shot short, then chipped to 4 feet. “This is one part of Scottie’s game that he just doesn’t get as much credit for,” analyst Ian Baker-Finch said on the CBS broadcast. “I think drives are great, irons are great, but those little chips, he’s just exquisite.” His S.C.O.T.T.I.E. play ain’t bad, either, Ian.
Hole 14: 483 yards, par-4 (par) Shot 1: 276 yards to native area, 192 yards to hole (Bad Scottie!) Shot 2: 192 yards to left intermediate, 52 feet, 0 inches to hole (Great Scottie!) Shot 3: 49 feet, 10 inches to green, 2 feet, 3 inches to hole Shot 4: In the hole
Note: Here, Scheffler led by one after an eagle at 13, but this was maybe the worst ‘Bad Scottie’: Scheffler hooked his tee shot so terribly, he dropped his club on his follow-through. Then he ‘Great Scottie’d.’ Standing with the ball slightly below his feet, with a pebble-y rough underneath him and trees and a greenside bunker in front of him, Scheffler hit to just left of the green. “No problems whatsoever,” Baker-Finch said on the broadcast.
Hole 16: 175 yards, par-3 (par) Shot 1: 173 yards to left rough, 55 feet, 1 inches to hole (Bad Scottie!) Drop in left rough, 57 feet, 0 inches to hole Shot 2: 72 feet, 5 inches to green, 15 feet, 4 inches to hole Shot 3: In the hole (Great Scottie!)
Note: This S.C.O.T.T.I.E. will lead the highlight film. Up one, Scheffler hooked his short iron left, was booed by a few of the thousands who surrounded the hole, then chipped 15 feet past the hole. He rolled that in, then Taylor bogeyed, and Scheffler’s advantage was two with two holes to go. Said Nobilo on the broadcast after Scheffler’s putt: “Mammoth three. Spare a thought for Nick Taylor — that putt just got five feet longer.”
Nobilo’s comment brings up another point, too: S.C.O.T.T.I.E.’s wear on you, if you’re chasing Scheffler, like Taylor and Rahm were. Think of it this way: Imagine the mood swing if an opponent goes from ‘bad’ to ‘great’ — not just once, but seven times! After 16, you got the sense things were basically over. As it turned out, Scheffler birdied 17 while Taylor parred, and on 18, Scheffler parred for the win, his second straight at the WMPO.
We’ll end things this way. Afterward, a reporter asked Scheffler about S.C.O.T.T.I.E., sort of; that’s our baby. Anyway, here’s that exchange:
“You seem to have just this uncanny ability to grind it out after a poor swing or something doesn’t go your way. Can you talk about how you developed that ability and what goes into it?”
“I’m not really sure,” Scheffler said. “I’ve always been really competitive and I don’t like making bogeys. I don’t enjoy that. Any time I hit a bad shot, it’s all about how you respond. Because bad shots are going to come. You’re not going to play 72 holes of perfect golf. A lot of it is how you respond. I felt like I did a really good job of that this week. Just hoping to build on it going forward.”
Boring.
Next time, Scottie, tell them all about the S.C.O.T.T.I.E.!
A look at every shot from Scottie Scheffler’s final round at the WM Phoenix Open:
Hole 1: 424 yards, par-4 (par) Shot 1: 267 yards to left rough, 154 yds to hole Shot 2: 165 yards to over the green, 32 feet, 3 inches to hole (Bad Scottie!) Shot 3: 32 feet. 8 inches to green, 4 inches to hole (Great Scottie!) Shot 4: In the hole
Hole 2, 435 yards, par-4 (birdie) Shot 1: 285 yards to right fairway bunker, 153 yards to hole (Bad Scottie!) Shot 2: 155 yards to green, 10 feet, 3 inches to hole (Great Scottie!) Shot 3: In the hole
Hole 3: 548 yards, par-5 (birdie) Shot 1: 323 yards to left rough, 235 yards to hole (Bad Scottie!) Shot 2: 245 yards to native area, 40 yards to hole Shot 3: 43 yards to green, 9 feet, 10 inches to hole Shot 4: In the hole (Great Scottie!)
Hole 4: 193 yards, par-3 (par) Shot 1: 176 yards to green, 51 feet, 1 inches to hole Shot 2: Putt 48 feet, 4 inches, 3 feet, 3 inches to hole Shot 3: In the hole
Hole 5: 470 yards, par-4 (par) Shot 1: 324 yards to left rough, 145 yards to hole Shot 2: 157 yards to green, 57 feet, 10 inches to hole Shot 3: Putt 69 feet, 11 inches, 11 feet, 11 inches to hole (Bad Scottie!) Shot 4: In the hole (Great Scottie!)
Hole 6: 448 yards, par-4 (par) Shot 1: 296 yards to left rough, 143 yards to hole Shot 2: 127 yards to green, 48 feet, 2 inches to hole Shot 3: Putt 43 feet, 8 inches, 4 feet, 9 inches to hole Shot 4: In the hole
Hole 7: 216 yards, par-3 (par) Shot 1: 220 yards to green, 31 feet, 6 inches to hole Shot 2: Putt 34 feet, 5 inches, 3 feet, 5 inches to hole Shot 3: In the hole
Hole 8: 487 yards, par-4 (par) Shot 1: 293 yards to right fairway, 196 yards to hole Shot 2: 190 yards to green, 30 feet, 2 inches to hole Shot 3: Putt 30 feet, 2 inches, 12 inches to hole Shot 4: In the hole
Hole 9: 458 yards, par-4 (birdie) Shot 1: 302 yards to right fairway, 156 yards to hole Shot 2: 157 yards to green, 5 feet, 9 inches to hole (Great Scottie!) Shot 3: In the hole
Hole 10: 429 yards, par-4 (par) Shot 1: 284 yards to left fairway, 154 yards to hole Shot 2: 158 yards to green, 24 feet, 11 inches to hole Shot 3: Putt 27 feet, 1 inches, 2 feet, 1 inches to hole Shot 4: In the hole
Hole 11: 474 yards, par-4 (par) Shot 1: 293 yards to right rough, 177 yards to hole (Bad Scottie!) Shot 2: 162 yards to left fairway, 78 feet, 5 inches to hole Shot 3: 80 feet, 9 inches to green, 4 feet, 2 inches to hole (Great Scottie!) Shot 4: In the hole
Hole 12: 159 yards, par-3 (par) Shot 1: 155 yards to green, 36 feet, 6 inches to hole Shot 2: Putt 37 feet 2 inches, 2 feet, 1 inches to hole Shot 3: In the hole
Hole 13: 576 yards, par-5 (eagle) Shot 1: 366 yards to right fairway, 202 yards to hole Shot 2: 200 yards to green, 21 feet, 11 inches to hole Shot 3: In the hole (Great Scottie!)
Hole 14: 483 yards, par-4 (par) Shot 1: 276 yards to native area, 192 yards to hole (Bad Scottie!) Shot 2: 192 yards to left intermediate, 52 feet, 0 inches to hole (Great Scottie!) Shot 3: 49 feet, 10 inches to green, 2 feet, 3 inches to hole Shot 4: In the hole
Hole 15: 545 yards, par-5 (par) Shot 1: 316 yards to right intermediate, 232 yards to hole Shot 2: 237 yards to front left greenside bunker, 34 feet, 8 inches to hole| Shot 3: 50 feet, 2 inches to green, 15 feet, 2 inches to hole Shot 4: Putt 15 feet, 8 inches, 19 inches to hole Shot 5: In the hole
Hole 16: 175 yards, par-3 (par) Shot 1: 173 yards to left rough, 55 feet, 1 inches to hole (Bad Scottie!) Drop in left rough, 57 feet, 0 inches to hole Shot 2: 72 feet, 5 inches to green, 15 feet, 4 inches to hole Shot 3: In the hole (Great Scottie!)
Hole 17: 316 yards, par-4 (birdie) Shot 1: 304 yards to right fairway, 92 feet, 0 inches to hole Shot 2: 87 feet, 3 inches to green, 4 feet, 9 inches to hole (Great Scottie!) Shot 3: In the hole
Hole 18: 434 yards, par-4 (par) Shot 1: 337 yards to right rough, 112 yards to hole Drop in right rough, 112 yards to hole Shot 2: 123 yards to green, 35 feet, 10 inches to hole Shot 3: Putt 34 feet, 11 inches, 12 inches to hole Shot 4: In the hole
Total: Bad Scotties!: 7 Great Scotties!: 10 Bad Scotties! followed by Great Scotties!: 7
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.
