Scottie Scheffler is streets ahead of every other golfer in the world right now.
Scheffler is better than most in almost every single statistical category, and many fancy him to win The Open Championship for the first time next week.
However, the world number one does have one big issue that he needs to address, if he is to contend at The Open, let alone win the tournament.
Scheffler has really improved his putting over the past year or so, and that part of his game always used to be his Kryptonite.
One of the most impressive things about the 29-year-old is that he always seems to figure out solutions to any problems he might have.
And he will need to do exactly that next week at Royal Portrush if he is to lift the Claret Jug at the end of the tournament.
Scheffler has admitted that he loves playing links golf, but one part of his game is in need of extra attention ahead of the The Open next week.
His game may be in decent shape, but there is always room for improvement in golf, regardless of how good you are.
Scottie Scheffler has an issue that he must address if he is to win The Open
Scheffler has been the dominant force in world golf over the past 18 months.
Since the start of the 2024 season, he has 10 PGA Tour wins to his name, two major championship victories, an Olympic gold medal and a win at the Hero World Challenge to top things off as well.
The key to his success during that period has been his imperious ball-striking, both with his driver and his irons.
As mentioned earlier, Scheffler has improved his putting as well, and as a result, he is pretty much the complete golfer right now.
However, the 16-time PGA Tour winner does actually have one weakness in his armoury, relatively speaking.
Scheffler’s bunker play is noticeably worse than any other aspect of his game.
He is ranked 75th in the sand save percentage category on the PGA Tour, only getting his ball up and down out of bunkers three out of every five attempts on average.
His struggles out of the sand this season are not a one-off either. Since the 2021-22 season, he has ranked 70th, 169th and 104th respectively in sand saves.
With bunkers acting as a key defence on links golf courses, and especially at Royal Portrush, Scheffler should be prioritising making marginal gains out of the sand over the course of the next week or so.
What Scottie Scheffler has said about bunker play
Scheffler recently offered some very simple advice for amateurs when it comes to hitting out of the sand around the greens.
He said: “Typically I would use a 60. I would go to all the way down to, nine iron is where it’s kind of pushing it, I would never use an eight. Something like this though, this short, usually a 60 for me. This is a pretty good lie, I try and get wide. Last year, I started working on getting further away from it, because for me, it was harder to get my hands lower. So it was easier if I just got in a little further away. Stand really far away, handle back, and basically throw it at the hole. Use the bottom (of the club), and try to get underneath it. I usually try and feel it all in the back of the club.”
Scheffler is describing there how he likes to lower his centre of gravity in order to help get the club underneath the ball.
He clearly understands the basics of bunker play, and you can guarantee that he is well aware of his poor performance out of the sand this season.
Maybe Scheffler needs to listen to his own advice when it comes to playing bunker shots.
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