Scottie Scheffler’s frustrating putting day has him well back of Hideki Matsuyama at FedEx St. Jude

Scottie Scheffler’s putting struggles during the third round of the FedEx St. Jude Championship have put him in a challenging position as he heads into the final round. While Hideki Matsuyama, the 54-hole leader, has been excelling on the greens, Scheffler has been unable to find his putting rhythm, leading to a significant seven-shot deficit.

 

Scheffler, the World No. 1 and reigning Masters champion, had a frustrating day on the greens, which significantly impacted his performance. He lost 1.5 strokes putting, placing him 61st out of the 70-player field on Saturday. This was a stark contrast to Matsuyama’s performance, who seemed to make every putt count. Scheffler’s putting woes were evident throughout the round, culminating in a moment of visible frustration on the 12th hole when he slammed the face of his putter into his hand after missing another birdie opportunity.

 

During his round, Scheffler missed four birdie putts from inside 12 feet. Although he managed to sink a 24-footer for birdie on the par-3 11th, he only made a total of 53 feet of putts for the day, with almost half of that distance coming from that single putt. His performance from beyond five feet was particularly dismal, contributing to his struggles.

 

Scheffler assessed his performance by acknowledging his putting difficulties. He noted that he hit a few lip-outs but felt he wasn’t hitting his putts particularly well. Despite some positive aspects of his round, such as good pitching and recovery shots, the putting issues overshadowed his performance. “There were times where I felt like I was getting away with some stuff, hitting some good pitches, making some good saves, but I felt like I hit a lot of lips today. But yeah, it happens,” Scheffler said.

 

Despite these struggles, Scheffler managed to shoot a 1-under 69 on the day, which included four birdies and three bogeys. As he looks ahead to the final round, he recognizes the need to improve his putting and give himself better chances to score. “Just get the ball a little bit closer to the hole and give myself more opportunities,” Scheffler commented. He expressed hope that he can clean up his game and provide himself with more scoring chances in the final round.

 

Currently, Matsuyama holds a commanding lead at 17-under par, with a five-shot advantage over rookie Nick Dunlap, who is in second place at 12-under. Viktor Hovland also made significant strides on Saturday, shooting a 4-under 66 to move up to 11-under and into third place. Scheffler’s current position, trailing by seven shots, is daunting but not insurmountable, given his past experiences of overcoming deficits.

 

Scheffler has demonstrated the ability to mount impressive comebacks in the past. At The Players Championship, he overcame a five-stroke deficit behind Xander Schauffele by shooting an 8-under 64 to win by one stroke. Similarly, at the Olympics in Paris, he carded a remarkable 9-under 62 to overcome a four-shot deficit and secure the gold medal.

 

However, a seven-shot deficit presents a significant challenge. Nevertheless, Scheffler remains optimistic about his chances. TPC Southwind, the venue for the championship, features a challenging layout with 11 holes featuring water hazards, which could provide opportunities for significant changes in the leaderboard. “It’s a golf course where there’s opportunity and there’s a lot of trouble,” Scheffler observed. He acknowledged the difficulty of closing out the tournament on the back nine but expressed his intention to put pressure on Matsuyama and see where it leads. “It’s going to be tough to close it out on the back nine. There’s a lot of water coming down the stretch. So try to get off to a good start, and Hideki is obviously playing some fantastic golf, but do my best to put a little bit of pressure on him and see what happens,” Scheffler concluded.