Scottie Scheffler failed to mount a final round charge as his first PGA Tour start of 2025 ended with a T9 finish at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
Starting the day six shots back of the lead, Scheffler carded a 67 (five under), which included four back-nine birdies. But, with Rory McIlroy in commanding form, there was too much ground to make up for the world number one.
After Scheffler came through the week pain-free and seemingly back to full fitness, it will only be a matter of time before he’s back challenging at the very top of a leaderboard.
During the first two rounds, Scheffler’s usually pinpoint distance control was slightly off. What’s more, Golf Channel pundit Rex Hoggard spotted an issue with the American’s driving on the Monterey Peninsula.
What Rex Hoggard said about Scottie Scheffler’s performance at AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am
Speaking during the latest Golf Channel Podcast, Hoggard discussed Scheffler’s first outing of 2025.
“I am not going to be the prisoner of the moment on this and point out that Scottie Scheffler was making his first start of the year. He is coming off injury. He clearly had a little bit of rust, specifically off the tee, which was a little bit surprising to me,” he said.
“You look at the other players around him, Aberg had to withdraw with an illness, Sepp Straka did not have his best stuff on Sunday, so you can look at the field around him and give the nod to maybe they weren’t at their best, but there is no denying Rory was at his absolute best. That was the version of Rory that makes us all like that is the guy who is going to complete the career grand slam.”
Scottie Scheffler’s AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am statistics
Despite falling short, Scheffler’s approach play was by far and away the best in the field at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. According to the PGA Tour’s stats database, Scheffler picked up 6.7 shots on the field with his approaches to the greens.
However, as Hoggard highlights, Scheffler was slightly off with his driver in hand. The two-time Masters champ ranked 30th for strokes gained off the tee.
What’s more, Scheffler’s short game was by no means at its sharpest. He was 63rd around the greens and lost 1.65 shots on the field.
Is Rex Hoggard concerned about Scottie Scheffler’s form?
Despite some concerning numbers, Hoggard is adamant Scheffler’s slight underperformance is purely due to a lack of competitive golf.
“Impressed. We didn’t know what to expect and I think both of us agreed with the idea that he is still going to be Scottie Scheffler. There was a concern that whatever he did to his hand could have lingering effects,” Hoggard added.
“I think what we saw last week was nothing more than rust. The hand was 100% healed; he just wasn’t at his absolute best the way he probably wanted to be. At this point in the season, I have absolutely no concerns at all.”
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