Scheffler fights through fatigue in final round
COVER PHOTO: World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler lines up a putt on No. 13 during his final round of the Memorial Tournament. Picture by Sam Fahmi/Columbus Wired.
Scottie Scheffler is tired.
The world’s top-ranked golfer who also sits second in the FedEx Cup standings has been grinding it out for the last month and all he wants to do is get some sleep.
“Yeah, I think the fourth week for me is going to be pretty much a hard max. I hope I don't have to do this again in the future. It's long, especially when you're in contention and especially when there's a major in there. Golf, especially on these tough courses, puts wear and tear on your body. Playing from awkward lies and hitting out of this heavy rough, it can put some strain on your body. Especially when you're playing well. So I'm proud of how I fought, but I'm definitely going to go home and get some rest for sure.”
He said after playing in his fourth straight tournament including the AT&T Byron Nelson, the PGA Championship and the Charles Schwab Challenge, he’s happy with the way he’s fought through fatigue and still been in the hunt for a win.
“I was in contention at Byron, PGA, and Colonial, and I'm pretty worn out at the moment. So I was just proud of how I showed up this weekend and fought.”
And fight he did.
After barely making the cut at three-over par, which was the cut line, he cooly worked his way through Jack Nicklaus’s course by posting a four-under par on Saturday and a five-under on Sunday. that included six birdies to one bogey, which came on par-4, No. 17. It was only his second bogey for the weekend after posting a total of nine on both Thursday and Friday.
Not bad for a guy that said after Saturday’s round, he didn’t want to get out of bed. It was way too early for an 8:05 a.m. tee time and the crick in his neck was really bugging him.
“I just tried to bring a good attitude coming in. The first two days here were really frustrating.”
What also frustrated him were missing some birdie putts and he began to question himself why they weren’t going in.
“I'm thinking like -- I mean, starting on No. 5, really good putt, just stayed high. No. 6, ball's on the edge. No. 7, ball's on the edge. I get to 13 and hit a really good putt,” and he paused for a second, “burns the edge. No. 14, same thing.”
He put his third shot on par-5, No. 5 to within 10 feet of the hole but the birdie putt went above the hole and stopped 20 inches away. On par-4, No. 6, his birdie from 20 feet came up two inches short. Then on par-5, No. 7 his 17-footer was once again less than two feet away. A 14-foot putt on par-4, No. 13 scooted a foot-and-a-half past the hole and the same thing happened with his nine-footer the very next hole that went a foot past.
The one he really wanted back was the five-and-a-half foot putt on par-4, No. 10 that he pulled and scalded the edge, rolling 20 inches past.
"It's just one of those deals. Sometimes those putts go in and sometimes they don't.”
He said he and his playing mate for the day, Jon Rahm, were joking after Friday’s round about how bad they were both putting at that point.
“We both were thinking the same thing, that some of those putts look like they're going in. And about two feet away, you're ready to go pick it up out of the hole and then it just doesn't fall. It's confusing, it's frustrating (and) I'm pretty frustrated with it right now.”
Scheffler didn’t allow those frustrations to seep into his game, though. He stuck to his normal routine and it paid off.
"(I played the) same brand of golf. I stayed committed to all my shots. It's going to sound silly, but the only shot I really felt I hit off line on the back nine was my shot into 16.”
Number 16 is a tight, 200-yard par-3 with water on the left and three bunkers lining the right side of the green. With the pin tucked into the upper-left hand corner of the green, he pulled out his 8-iron and cranked as close to the hole as he could. It landed 16 inches above the hole and he wouldn’t miss the birdie putt. It was his final birdie of the day.
A miss-hit on par-4, No. 17, though, cost him.
“(I) get to the next hole (after 16) and get paid back for that good break with a pretty bad one with a big gust (of wind) and then (the) ball hits the dang grass up above the bunker again. It's so frustrating because it goes all the way back down to the other side of the bunker and you're on (a) down slope looking up at the green.”
After sending his tee shot 307 yards neatly in the fairway just to the left of the right side fairway bunker, his second shot found the right, greenside bunker. His shot out of the sand sailed past the pin and landed 24-feet away. Another long putt was pulled and rolled 20 inches past the hole and he would hole out for the only bogey of the day.
He finished out the round with a par on No. 18.
Now all he’s got to do is wait and see how some of the other guys finish up. At the time, he was tied for third at two back.
“I'm going to get home and pack. Probably watch a little bit of the golf (and) see what happens. Our house is really close, so I'll probably go home and just pack and get everything together and then check the board, see what happens. Yeah, that's pretty much it. Just wait.”