Scheffler hooks up with putting coach, believes he’s back on track
GUIDONIA MONTECELIO, Italy — Scottie Scheffler is the No. 1 player in the world and played the best golf of anyone this year, at least until he got onto the green. His putting was becoming a liability, and Scheffler wasted no time after the PGA Tour postseason getting it fixed.
He sent a text the Sunday night after the Tour Championship to Phil Kenyon in England, regarded as among the best teachers when it comes to putting.
Kenyon agreed to come to Dallas a few days later, and they went to work.
“It was something I was thinking about towards the end of the year, and Phil was a guy that I had watched. He teaches a lot of really good putters, and he didn’t seem like a method guy. So he was the first phone call that I wanted to make,” Scheffler said.
Scheffler has had only Randy Smith as an instructor, and Smith thought it was a good idea to bring in someone like Kenyon who specializes in putting. Scheffler said Smith attended their sessions so he could be a set of eyes when Kenyon is not there.
“I had a feeling what I was doing wrong,” Scheffler said. “It was just I was trying to fix it in the complete wrong way.”
The short version of the problem is that the toe of the putter kept rising as he stroked the golf ball, causing him to hit a little on the heel. To keep the putter low, he would lower his hands. But that actually caused the toe to rise even higher.
“So as the year went on, my hands are getting lower and lower, and the problem is getting worse and worse,” Scheffler said. “It was something I couldn’t figure out, and it was preventing me from hitting as many putts on line as I should have.”
Scheffler’s consistency was astonishing this year. He won twice, including The Players Championship, and had a stretch of 16 consecutive tournaments against strong fields when he didn’t finish outside the top 12. He had chances in the PGA Championship and U.S. Open, all without making many putts.
After his work with Kenyon, Scheffler said he is more consistent hitting the starting line on his putts. He’s seeing the golf ball roll properly, more than it did a month ago.
Harman and nature: The European press is still fascinated with the lifestyle of British Open champion Brian Harman, who regaled them with tales at Royal Liverpool about his love of hunting, his new tractor for his 1,000-acre property in Georgia and living off the land.
He was asked Wednesday about his impressions of Rome.
“I’m a big flora fauna guy, so I think they call them the Scot pine, the pines that have the canopy, they’re beautiful,” Harman said. “I think there’s a few Linden trees hanging around downtown.”
Not to let a few trees get in the way, he also has been overwhelmed by the history of Rome. The team hotel looks out over the eternal city.
Clark and Rory: U.S. Open champion Wyndham Clark served up what could be interpreted as bulletin board material for Team Europe when he said recently he wouldn’t mind playing Rory Mcilroy because he’s like to think he’s better than him.
Clark did finish one shot ahead of Mcilroy at Los Angeles Country Club to win the U.S. Open. His point was that players want to prove themselves against the best — Mcilroy, Jon Rahm, Fedex Cup champion Viktor Hovland — and any player should feel they are capable.
So he didn’t back away from his comment Wednesday. He just tried to explain it.
“If I don’t think I’m better than every player out here, then what am I doing?” Clark said. “If I’m trying to be the best player in the world, which is what I’m trying to be, I’ve got to believe that. Right now, maybe I’m not. He’s had a way better career than me, that’s obvious. But I also have to have that self-belief that I can beat anyone out here.”