Scottie Scheffler hoped to right the wrongs of the 2023 Ryder Cup this year, but his tournament has started abysmally.
He lost his first two matches of the tournament on Friday. First was a 5&3 defeat in foursomes to Ludvig Aberg and Matt Fitzpatrick, followed by a loss to Jon Rahm and Sepp Straka 3&2 in fourball.
While Russell Henley took the heat for his poor morning performance, the blame for Friday afternoon fell on Scottie Scheffler’s.
The world number one couldn’t buy a putt all day. That was the weakness in his game that Scheffler appeared to have fixed in 2025, but those old demons came back to haunt him at Bethpage Black.
Scheffler’s performance so far has drawn comparisons to Tiger Woods’ poor Ryder Cup history. Woods, the greatest of all time, was 13-21-3 at the tournament in his career. After his difficult Friday in New York, Scheffler equalled Woods’ unwanted record.
Scottie Scheffler had the worst Ryder Cup Friday in 23 years for a world number one
After losing in both the morning and afternoon sessions, Scheffler became the first world number one in 23 years to lose both Friday games at a Ryder Cup. The last to do it was Woods in 2002.
At least Woods’ matches came down to the wire at The Belfry in ’02. He lost one down in the morning foursomes and 2&1 in fourball. Scheffler was never truly in contention in his Friday matches.
Scheffler dismissed comparisons to Woods before the Ryder Cup, but they are becoming unavoidable. The man who dominated on the PGA Tour throughout the entire year looks like a shell of himself on the biggest stage.
He has performed under pressure all season, winning two major championships, so his struggles are mystifying. J.J. Spaun’s fourball performance was the biggest reason they were in contention against Rahm and Straka.
Scheffler rarely troubled the hole with even medium-distance putts. He looked confused and irritated at his inability to read greens. That’s a worrying sign for Keegan Bradley and Team USA, who hoped Scheffler would be their talisman entering the tournament.
Scottie Scheffler’s putting troubles resurface at the Ryder Cup
Scheffler is almost unbeatable when his putts are dropping. It’s probably the biggest reason he wasn’t the same dominant force earlier in his career. Once he became one of the best putters on Tour, the winning began.
In 2024, Scheffler ranked 77th in strokes gained from putting. 2025 saw him ranked 22nd. At The Open Championship, he gained 8.5 strokes on putting for the week. He faced 63 putts inside 10 feet and made 59 of them.
However, this was the first indication that Scheffler’s previous putting form was creeping back into his game. His biggest putt on Friday looked to cut his deficit to two down, but Rahm answered emphatically to neutralise Scheffler’s only sign of life.
That’s not to say that Scheffler will bring his form from the Ryder Cup back to the PGA Tour. However, it’s certainly worth noting that his worst tendencies surfaced on the first day of the tournament.
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