Scottie Scheffler has somehow managed to remain on the periphery of contention at the US Open this week.
Scheffler has by no means played his best at Oakmont this week, but he has managed to hang around and will probably be very close to the top-10 by the time day three is done.
The 28-year-old has driven the ball poorly during the first three rounds of the US Open, having hit just 22 of 42 fairways after three rounds played.
Over the course of the first three rounds, Scheffler’s putting has actually kept him in the hunt to win the US Open, and he currently sits inside the top 20 for strokes gained on the greens.
The man from Dallas will be working incredibly hard on the range this evening in order to find something ahead of the final round – just like he did on Friday.
Scheffler was seen remonstrating with his coach Randy Smith on the range at Oakmont after his second round 71 on day two.
While it was incredibly strange to see Scheffler lose his cool to such an extent, there was nothing untoward about what happened.
Elite level athletes have so much passion for what they do that sometimes emotions spill over.
Scottie Scheffler tells the truth over what happened on the driving range at the US Open
Golf fans and journalists alike were taken aback by the unusual release of emotion from Scheffler on the range after his second round.
So was there really an issue between the world number one and Smith?
The man himself has now lifted the lid on exactly what happened.
Scheffler responded when asked to explain exactly what happened between him and his coach on the range at Oakmont on Friday night.
“Yeah, I would say in terms of a practice session after the round, that was pretty regular“, Scheffler explained. “We’re just trying to figure stuff out out there. To be honest with you, yesterday we left the range, I felt like I didn’t figure anything out. Just one of those days where just the swing wasn’t there.
“Randy had some thoughts for me that definitely helped today, but I’m going to go hit a few more balls and see if we can figure something out. But overall today was — yesterday for me to shoot 1-over was, I mean, pretty amazing, I felt like, with the spots I was hitting it and the way I was playing. I got up-and-down a lot. I made a lot of key putts, especially on the back nine.
“At one point I was maybe even outside the cut line yesterday, and so to battle back, not having my best stuff, to get in there and still have a chance to shoot even par — without the bogey on 9, I shoot even par. It was a pretty good day.
“Today, once again, another battle. It’s been three days of battling out there. Usually over the course of 72 holes you have a couple days where you your swing feels pretty good, a couple days where maybe it’s off, and weeks where you win it’s maybe you have three or four days of good ball striking and holing some putts, and a week like this week I’ve had three days where I haven’t really had my swing, and I’ve been battling out there and still have a chance, albeit an outside chance, but still a chance.“
Scheffler on whether he’s rooting against US Open leaders
The 16-time PGA Tour winner still has a chance to win the US Open, albeit a small one.
He will need the leaders to come back to him slightly, if he is to have any chance whatsoever on Sunday.
So is he rooting for the likes of Sam Burns and J.J. Spaun to shift into reverse?
He said, “I’m not really going to watch what’s going on this afternoon. I’m going to go out and practice. I’ll be able to see the leaderboards now and check and see what guys are doing.
“I’m not necessarily going to be rooting against anybody, but do I hope they go out and shoot 5-under on the back nine? I wouldn’t mind even, you know (laughing).
“But it’s just one of those deals where I put myself in this position. It’s not the position I want to be in, but I’ve done a good job of hanging in there and staying in the tournament, and I’m going to go out on the range and see if I can hit a few good shots, get some good feels for tomorrow’s round and then go hit a couple putts, get some recovery and then get out of here.“
If the leaders slip back to two-under par by the time round three is finished, Scheffler will still fancy his chances of making a late run to win the US Open.
However, the championship is still very much in the hands of Burns and Spaun.
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