It seemed inevitable, some would say, even before Thursday’s opening round of the 2025 British Open started. For others, it was when he took the outright lead on the 16th hole at Royal Portrush on Friday. Others had to wait at least a couple holes into Sunday’s final round before declaring Scottie Scheffler the champion golfer of the year. At least at that point it seemed safe to think he wouldn’t be passed.
But why is that? What if nerves kicked in and he started to miss some putts?
Well, the truth is, putting is no longer a weakness in Scottie Scheffler’s game. In fact, he may have not only become good at putting, he may have just become elite on the greens.
Warren Little
It wasn’t that long ago that we all wondered what could be possible if Scheffler became “an average putter”. Look at the 2022 Memorial. That week in Ohio, Scheffler led the field in strokes gained/off-the-tee, strokes gained/approach and strokes gained/around-the-green. Tee to green, he was practically flawless. Yet, he finished third, one shot out of a playoff.
That week, he lost more than 8.5 strokes with his putter, ranking the worst in the field on the greens. Indeed, that week, if he had putted “average” (i.e. 0.0 strokes gained/putting), he would have won seven shots.
Fast forward three years, three major wins and 149 weeks at the top of the World Ranking and Scheffler arrived at Royal Portrush. He may not have previously contended down the stretch in an Open, but he had finished in the top 25 in all five of his Open appearances.
So what was the difference this time, Scheffler winning the claret jug by four strokes? It’s hard not to look at his putter.
Richard Heathcote
Last year at Royal Troon, Scheffler finished seventh overall. To many it seemed like a good, solid week at major for a top player learning links golf. But Scheffler knew what was going on.
Of the 70 players who made the cut, he ranked 60th in strokes gained/putting. He was the only player in the field to finish under par, yet lose shots on the greens.
This week in Northern Ireland, Scheffler became an elite putter.
Entering the week, he ranked inside the top 25 on the PGA Tour our in strokes gained/putting. However, that data came from events in the U.S. Putting on links greens is different. The greens are larger, the grass is different, the pace is slower. Could Scottie parlay his good putting season into a good putting week at The Open?.
Answer, yes.
Alex Pantling/R&A
Scheffler not only gained strokes on Royal Portrush’s greens—more than 8.5 to be specific—he excelled. He finished four rounds ranked second in the field in SG/putting. While many will recall his dialled iron shots and pin-high approach play, there’s little doubt his improved putting was the difference this time around.
Scheffler gained a little more than nine strokes in his approach play, nearly matching that with his performance on the greens. He faced 63 putts inside 10 feet in four rounds. He made 59 of them. You don’t need me to tell you that is absurd.
For comparison, last week at the Genesis Scottish Open, Scheffler finished in the top 10 but missed 17 putts inside 10 feet.
Data Golf tracked the strokes gained value of every shot hit at The Open. Of Scheffler’s 15 best shots, measured by strokes gained, 11 were putts.
Three, key, examples came at a crucial time today.
Having built a six-shot lead after four holes on Sunday, it seemed the tournament was essentially over. However, there were runs going on elsewhere from the likes of Chris Gotterup, Haotong Li and Harris English, among others.
Scheffler’s response? Lean on his putter.
On the next three holes, Scheffler holed putts from 15 feet, 16 feet and 15 feet. Twice for par, once for birdie. A lead that could have easily been four, instead was increased to seven.
Ramsey Cardy
Eventually, he would win, shooting a closing 68 for a 17-under 267 total and three of the legs of the career Grand Slam now secured. It was, no question, a dominating victory. However, had he putted “average” (i.e. 0.0 strokes gained/putting), he would have lost by four shots.
Thus, in the space of just a couple of years, along with adding four major trophies to his growing trophy cabinet, he may have just become elite on the greens.
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Is it the British Open or the Open Championship? The name of the final men’s major of the golf season is a subject of continued discussion. The event’s official name, as explained in this op-ed by former R&A chairman Ian Pattinson, is the Open Championship. But since many United States golf fans continue to refer to it as the British Open, and search news around the event accordingly, Golf Digest continues to utilize both names in its coverage.
This article was originally published on golfdigest.com
