It's time for Scottie Scheffler to finally fix his putting

Scottie Scheffler reacts after a putt on the 16th hole during the third round of The Genesis Invitational golf tournament at Riviera Country Club.

Scottie Scheffler is wasting one of the most dominant stretches of ball-striking we’ll ever see on the PGA Tour.

In the most competitive era in golf history, Scheffler has distanced himself from the rest of the world as the best tee-to-green player in the sport. Not since Tiger Woods in his prime have we seen a player lap the PGA Tour in ball-striking stats like Scheffler has done over the past two years.

The World No. 1 should have double-digit wins and multiple major championships on his resume at this point, but he’s won only twice in his past 40 starts despite finishing in the top five 20 times over that span. Incredibly, that’s a top-five rate of 50%.

Last season, Scheffler notched 13 top-five finishes in 23 PGA Tour starts. Here’s how he ranked in some key statistical categories:

Strokes gained: Tee to green — FirstStrokes gained: Approach — FirstStrokes gained: Off the tee — FirstStrokes gained: Around the green — FifthGreens in regulation percentage — First

Scheffler gained an average of 2.615 strokes per round from tee to green in 2023, the best mark since Woods in 2006. Tiger started and finished 14 tournaments that season, winning eight. So, how did Scheffler finish the season with only two victories? Take a look at some of his putting stats:

Strokes gained: Putting — 162nd (out of 193)

Putting inside 10 feet — 190th

Putting from inside five feet — 175th

One-putt percentage — 136th

Ding, ding, ding.

Scheffler attempted to fix his putting woes in the offseason by working with famed putting coach Phil Kenyon and switching to a larger grip, but his statistical profile to start the 2024 season is eerily similar to last year’s.

The 27-year-old is still leading the Tour in SG: tee to green and has four top-10 finishes in five starts, but the winless streak continues.

Scheffler doesn’t want to switch out his blade putter if he hasn’t already, but it’s time for a change. Over the past year, we’ve seen struggling putters such as Lucas Glover, Rickie Fowler and Keegan Bradley return to the winner’s circle after adding a longer putter to their bag or changing their stroke completely.

Rory McIlroy, who has famously tinkered with various putters throughout his career, offered advice for Scheffler.

“For me, going to a mallet was a big change. I really persisted with the blade putter for a long time, but I just feel like your stroke has to be so perfect to start the ball on line, where the mallet just gives you a little bit more margin for error,” McIlroy said over weekend during the CBS broadcast of The Genesis Invitational, per Golf Digest. “So, I’d love to see Scottie try a mallet, but selfishly for me, Scottie does everything else so well that he’s given the rest of us a chance.”

Scheffler’s historic ball-striking hot streak isn’t going to last forever. If he doesn’t make a major adjustment to his putting, he’ll leave wins on the table and continue to diminish his legacy.

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