While Scottie Scheffler has a chance to take four points from one team event for the first time in his professional career, it seems fair to say that the world number one is yet to find his best form at the Presidents Cup.
Scottie Scheffler has not exactly been the talisman for the American side at the Presidents Cup. His partnership with Russell Henley has looked extremely strong so far, with Henley rarely missing a fairway or a green.
However, moments of the 28-year-old’s true class have been few and far between. It was remarkable when Scheffler shouted over to Tom Kim on the opening day, but he has only made five birdies across the two four-ball sessions at Royal Montreal.
Some of his putting has been poor, but that has long been the only Achilles heel in his game. He missed a couple of relatively short putts in quick succession on Saturday afternoon.
Scottie Scheffler criticised on Saturday at the Presidents Cup
But it was another part of his game which stunned Paul McGinley. Speaking on Sky Sports (broadcast on 28/9 from 18:00) after Scheffler pulled his iron shot on the 10th hole left of the green, the 2014 European Ryder Cup captain insisted that he was baffled by how poor he had been in one area.
“Miles short as well, I can’t believe his distance control this week because there’s nothing out there,” he said.
“It’s not altitude and you saw his distance control wasn’t great in Colorado. You can put that down to the altitude, but this is a strength of his game. It’s amazing how many times he’s been miles off with his distance control this week.”
The world number one was still able to step up when needed
Ultimately, Scheffler would have the last laugh. He made two vital birdies late in his match on Saturday morning to win his side the point. And somehow, they were able to turn their game against Hideki Matsuyama and Sungjae Im around in the afternoon. They found themselves behind from the first hole, only getting back to all square after the 12th, before then securing the point.
It will be interesting to see how Scheffler gets on with his own ball in his singles match with Matsuyama on Sunday. Tiger Woods seemed to be at his most comfortable, particularly in the Ryder Cup, on Sunday when he did not need to worry about a partner.
Matsuyama is one of the Internationals’ best iron players, so if the two-time major champion is off his game, there is the potential for Matsuyama to get what would be a crucial point for Mike Weir’s men.
But clearly, whenever Scheffler has not got his best stuff, he is usually able to still find a way to fight through.
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