And just like that, Scottie Scheffler is in a slump.
OK, so that’s a bit of a stretch, but the World No. 1 shot a Saturday 71 at Pinehurst No. 2 to notch a career-worst streak. For the first time as a professional, Scheffler has shot (gasp!) four consecutive rounds over par.
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Of course, for context, three of those rounds are at a U.S. Open. Where, despite his struggles, Scheffler still made the cut. And the fourth round was the final round at last week’s Memorial Tournament, where Muirfield Village also played particularly difficult that Sunday. It should also be noted that Scheffler’s 74 that day was still good enough for him to notch his fifth win of 2024.
“I’m having a lot of trouble reading these greens,” Scheffler told reporters after. “I had a lot of putts today where I felt like I hit it really good. I looked up and they were not going the way I thought they were going to go.”
“Really my swing today felt a lot better than it did yesterday,” Scheffler continued. “I felt like the last 27 holes I’ve played, I’ve hit it really nice, but I just haven’t been able to hit it quite close enough, which is difficult around this course. I haven’t been able to hole the putts the last few today.”
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Then there’s the fact that it took Scheffler this long to have such a cold stretch. This is his 120th start as a pro on the PGA Tour, and as British gambling guru Ben Coley pointed out, that’s a LOT more starts than a few of Scheffler’s top contemporaries like Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm and Jordan Spieth.
And what about the man Scheffler has been drawing comparisons to during this historic stretch, Tiger Woods? By our count it happened for the 15-time major champ in only his 41st PGA Tour start as a pro in 1998. And—perhaps, not surprisingly—it also happened at a U.S. Open after starting at the Memorial.
That year Woods also shot an opening 76 at the Western Open in his next start to bring his over-par streak to six(!). But as golf fans are well aware, things turned out OK for Tiger. And we’re not worried about Scheffler, either.
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This article was originally published on golfdigest.com
