Scottie Scheffler missed the chance to make it three victories on the spin at the weekend, as the world number one finished in a tie for fourth at the Charles Schwab Challenge.
There was no question that Scottie Scheffler was the man to beat at the Charles Schwab Challenge. Scheffler was looking to become the first PGA Tour player to win in three consecutive starts since Dustin Johnson in 2017, following his victories at The CJ CUP Byron Nelson and the PGA Championship.
Scheffler had appeared to be so comfortable at Quail Hollow. Much like last year’s Tour Championship, the only player who could close in on the 28-year-old on Sunday at the second major of the year fell away almost as quickly as the gap closed.
And with this past week’s event at Colonial not boasting the strongest field, it was hard to look past Scheffler.
Ultimately, he was unable to get across the line. Ben Griffin finished four clear of Scheffler.
Scottie Scheffler labelled ‘amusing’ after his display at the Charles Schwab Challenge
Remarkably, Scheffler has finished inside the top 10 on his last six starts. And with that, Rex Hoggard has told the Golf Channel Podcast that he cannot help but laugh at the run Scheffler is putting together right now.
“He is so amusing to me. Funny even, how predictable Scottie Scheffler is,” he said. “He came into this week with so many expectations. You look at what he has done this season. The last time he played in the Dallas area he won by eight strokes at the Byron Nelson. Then winning the PGA Championship. Of course, he was going to be the favourite going into this week at a golf course where the last three years he has finished second, third and second. There was nothing in the clouds which suggested this maybe wasn’t Scottie’s week.
“But if you are paying attention and if you listen to what he says, because he doesn’t say a heck of a lot, but what he says there’s a lot of substance to it and in this particular case his preparation just wasn’t there and for good reason.
“He did not get home until late, there was a celebration on Sunday night for all the right reasons after winning the PGA Championship.
“My guess is that he pretty much slept all day on Monday, didn’t come to the golf course on Tuesday and just played nine holes on Wednesday.
“This is just rinse and repeat when it comes to Scottie Scheffler, you can see this every time. If he does not prepare like he wants to or needs to prepare he is probably not going to get the most out of his game.
“That being said you are going to look back at this and say another top 10. Just one more part in an unbelievable schedule. Somehow some people are going to look at this and be underwhelmed.
“But it’s as simple as that when I talked to him this afternoon it was he had one off day, Friday, where he shot 71 – not quite at his best and the other three rounds were solid. I think what he did over the weekend gave him something going into next week.
“To that point I was very clear of asking him what his schedule was like next week and the plan is to fly to Ohio for The Memorial on Monday night and do his normal routine on Tuesday and Wednesday and that is why he is probably going to be one of the favourites for all the right reasons.
“If he doesn’t get his proper preparation, whether that’s going into a tournament or in the off season with his injury, he is probably going to be a fraction off.
“And a fraction off Scottie Scheffler usually finishes somewhere inside the top five, when he’s not and he’s 100% he can win by eight strokes.”
How Scottie Scheffler performed in the stats at the Charles Schwab Challenge
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Scheffler’s game from tee to green this past week at Colonial was nearly flawless. He was first for strokes gained approach across the week.
| Category | Strokes gained | Scottie Scheffler’s field rank |
| Off the tee | 3.196 | 8th |
| Approach | 7.315 | 1st |
| Around the green | -0.378 | 49th |
| Putting | -0.822 | 56th |
| Total | 9.310 | T4th |
He did lose strokes to the field around the green and when putting. But he will surely feel that it was not the worst time to have those issues given the run of events which are coming up.
Scheffler will be looking to defend The Memorial title in the coming days. Meanwhile, he will be the favourite for the US Open at Oakmont given how important accuracy will be.
Once again, it appears to be a hugely ominous sign for all of his rivals that Scheffler’s B or C game earned him another top five on the PGA Tour.
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