Given everything that has gone on in the two years since the 2023 Ryder Cup, it appeared almost impossible that Scottie Scheffler would struggle at Bethpage Black like he had done in Rome.
Scottie Scheffler failed to win any of his four matches at Marco Simone two years ago. And of course, the world number one and Brooks Koepka lost 9&7 on Saturday morning.
But Scheffler has won 16 times worldwide since then, including three major championships. And when he won at the Procore Championship earlier this month, it appeared to send out an ominous warning to the Europeans.
However, Scheffler had another nightmare on the opening day of the 2025 Ryder Cup.
Scottie Scheffler’s performance on Friday at the Ryder Cup labelled ‘shocking’
The 29-year-old lost both of his matches on Friday in New York. Scheffler and Russell Henley were beaten 5&3 by Matthew Fitzpatrick and Ludvig Aberg in the morning foursomes. And Scheffler and J.J. Spaun were defeated 3&2 by Jon Rahm and Sepp Straka in the second session.
Scheffler did not make a single birdie before the 13th hole in the second match. By that stage, all three of his playing partners had done so. And Europe found themselves 3 up.
Speaking on The Smylie Show, Smylie Kaufman admitted that he could not believe how difficult Scheffler found it to stamp his authority on the game.
“That was shocking, not seeing him make a ton of birdies this afternoon, because I thought he did play well this morning, just never really had opportunities to just build momentum and it just sucks the life out of you when you just feel like you can’t grab any momentum in the matches,” he said.
The big mistake Scottie Scheffler and Russell Henley made
It was a big shock to see Henley and Scheffler struggle early on. The pair formed a formidable partnership at the Presidents Cup last year, and are two of the most consistent performers on the PGA Tour. They are also two of the top three ranked players in the world.
But they were taken apart by a European pairing that few outside their team would have ever expected to play together before the last few weeks.
Henley made a number of uncharacteristic errors. But Kaufman believes that they were made to rue a decision which they made before they even got going on Friday morning.
“I think the big mistake in that match was Scottie Scheffler teeing off on the even holes. To me, it was a huge advantage from a distance standpoint Russell Henley teeing off on the odds, at times, there was a 30 to 40 yard advantage, but when Ludvig and Russell were hitting on these odd holes, it just always felt like the Europeans were at such a statistical advantage,” he said.
“Tons of long irons, the course played extremely long, tons of long irons. And I’m so used to Scottie Scheffler having such a big advantage off of the tee, but when he’s playing from Russell Henley’s ball, there was just no advantage.”
It is a surprise that Scheffler looks so vulnerable on the Ryder Cup stage. While the format is very different from a 72-hole strokeplay tournament, it was jarring to see him flounder as the likes of Jon Rahm, Tommy Fleetwood and Rory McIlroy shone.
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