PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — For most players, two rounds under par at TPC Sawgrass is nothing to be upset about. But when you’re Scottie Scheffler and you’ve won the Players Championship two straight years, expectations are different.
Scheffler posted rounds of 3-under 69 and 70 to start this week’s Players and is six shots back of the lead. But watching him over the course of the day, you could see a player visibly frustrated by his performance.
“The last two days I felt like I could have scored a lot better. The amount of good putts I hit that just went right around the hole,” Scheffler said. “At times last year those were the putts that would go in, and the last few weeks seems like they haven’t been.”
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Over the course of 36 holes, Scheffler has lost 0.21 strokes to the field with his putter; last season, when he won eight tournaments, he was +0.095 strokes gained: putting.
“I don’t have to play perfect golf in order to try to win tournaments, and sometimes I try to lean on [previous wins] a little bit when I’m out there,” Scheffler said. “But I talk about it a lot. Last year was last year. This year’s a totally different year. It’s a different golf course, different feel. There’s a lot of different stuff going on.”
On the fourth hole Friday, Scheffler missed a 14-foot putt for par. While walking to the fourth tee box, an exasperated Scheffler shook his head, turned to caddie Ted Scott and said, “I’d just love a lip-out!” while slapping his hands down to his sides.
Then on No. 7, Scheffler’s drive found a pesky fairway bunker and gave him such a tough lie that his recovery shot didn’t even sniff the green. Scheffler proceeded to take his club and slam it into his golf bag in anger. He was able to get up and down for a crucial par save, however.
“I didn’t do a whole lot to fire [the crowd] up today,” said Scheffler, who still had five birdies.
Afterward, Scheffler appeared a bit more at ease. He tried to look at what he could do over the weekend while acknowledging he wasn’t able to take advantage of the easy conditions like he had hoped. Severe winds, including gusts of up to 30 mph, will loom over Sawgrass starting Saturday, and the course should play much tougher over the final two rounds.
“If you go to a course like where The Open Championships usually are, you could play the ball on the ground. Around this place you can’t really,” Scheffler said of playing in the wind. “The fairways are fairly soft. You got to get the ball airborne, and so got to make sure you’re controlling your spin, hitting it really solid. At times it can feel like you’re guessing a little bit on the wind, and you hopefully guess right more often than you’re wrong.”
