The No. 1 player in the world made a one on Sunday at the Charles Schwab Challenge. Scottie Scheffler, who started the day just behind the leaders of the tournament, aced the par-3 8th for the second of his career. His other ace came at the 2014 Byron Nelson when he was just 17 years old.
More importantly, it aided a Sunday spark that put him within striking range for the top of the leaderboard. The ace came from 189 yards out and is the second of the week (Harris English had the other):
Follow LIVE during final-round action at Colonial Country Club
Scheffler should’ve won this tournament. He led the field from tee to green and gained more strokes from tee to green than Harry Hall has gained overall for the week. The problem for Scheffler is that his putter let him down, a common theme this year. His tee-to-green play has been comically good, but his putter has kept him from winning three, four or maybe five times.
Consider the following:
- American Express: Average putting, finished T11
- Arnold Palmer Invitational: Below-average putting, T4
- Players: Average putting, won
- Masters: Way below-average putting, T10
- RBC Heritage: Below-average putting, T11
- Byron Nelson: Below-average putting, T5
- PGA Championship: Slightly above-average putting, T2
It’s happening again this week. Scheffler led the field from tee to green but was nearly last in putting. Still, he got to within a few strokes of the top of the leaderboard, finishing the event at 7 under.