Scottie Scheffler got his first win on the PGA Tour at the WM Phoenix Open, his 71st career start. It took just two more to get win No.2.
Scheffler won the Arnold Palmer Invitational essentially by outlasting the rest of the field, making a pair of incredible par saves on holes 15 and 16 while the rest of the contenders went off the rails on a difficult scoring day. After a rocky front-nine 37, Scheffler came home clean, producing eight pars and a birdie on the par-5 12th when he hit the green in two and two-putted.
On a course with US Open-like difficulty, it was Scheffler’s iron play that helped determine things. Negative in strokes gained/off-the-tee for the week, Scheffler still managed to lead the field in strokes gained/approach-the-green with his TaylorMade P7TW irons and Titleist Vokey SM8 wedges (he also uses a pair of Srixon utility irons for his 3 and 4-iron). In all, Scheffler bettered the field by more than eight strokes on his approach shots.
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It’s somewhat appropriate the P7TW irons were in the bag of the champion as the clubs are based off Tiger Woods’ irons. Woods has won the tournament eight times, tying for the most victories in one event on the PGA Tour.
On the greens, Scheffler ranked fourth in putts per green in regulation, but it was a couple of par-savers that were most important. Scheffler used his Scotty Cameron prototype putter to hole a 21-footer for par at the 15th after a low punch shot failed to get out of pine straw. On the 16th hole, he made a six-footer after having to lay up with his third shot on the par 5. Scheffler then finished things off with a steely two-putt from 69 feet on the final hole that gave him the win when Viktor Hovland and then Billy Horschel failed to birdie the 18th.
What Scottie Scheffler had in the bag at the Arnold Palmer Invitational:
Ball: Titleist Pro V1
Driver: TaylorMade Stealth Plus (Fujikura Ventus Black 7X), 8 degrees
3-wood: Nike VR Pro LTD, 15 degrees
Irons (3-4): Srixon ZU85; (5-PW): TaylorMade P7TW
Wedges: Titleist Vokey SM8 (50, 56 degrees); Titleist Vokey WedgeWorks prototype (60 degrees)
Putter: Scotty Cameron by Titleist prototype
PHOTO: Mike Mulholland
