Rory McIlroy Accidentally Created A Monster With Scottie Scheffler Comment

Scottie Scheffler, the world’s No. 1 golfer, has been making headlines for his exceptional play, leading the PGA Tour money list for the past two seasons. Despite his dominance, Scheffler had a glaring weakness: his putting.

Earlier this year, Scheffler’s putting struggles were on full display at the Genesis Invitational in February, where he lost 4.4 strokes to the field on the greens. This was the worst performance among players who made the cut. Despite this setback, Scheffler still managed to tie for 10th place, largely due to his outstanding play in other areas, including finishing second in strokes gained tee-to-green and first in strokes gained around the green. However, he ended up nine shots behind the winner, Hideki Matsuyama.

The turning point came after the tournament when Rory McIlroy, who has had his own share of putting struggles, was asked about Scheffler’s issues. McIlroy shared his personal experience, saying, “I’ve certainly been through my fair share of putting woes over the years, and I finally feel like I’ve broken through and become a pretty consistent putter. 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 suggested that Scheffler try switching to a mallet putter, adding, “But selfishly for me, Scottie does everything else so well that he’s given the rest of us a chance.”

Taking McIlroy’s advice, Scheffler switched from a blade putter to a mallet putter. The results were immediate and remarkable. In the eight tournaments he played after making the change, Scheffler finished above average in strokes gained putting in all of them. He won five of these tournaments, including the very next week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational, where he ranked fifth in the field in strokes gained putting.

Scheffler now ranks 71st on the PGA Tour in strokes gained putting, a significant improvement that places him solidly in the top half of the 178 qualified players. Instead of losing strokes, he is now gaining them per round. Coupled with his incredible ball striking, where he ranks first in strokes gained tee-to-green, and his strong play around the greens, ranked 14th in strokes gained, Scheffler has become a formidable force on the tour.

So, thanks to Rory McIlroy’s advice, Scottie Scheffler has turned his game around, becoming an even more dominant player. It’s a change that McIlroy might be regretting, given the impact it has had on the competition.