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Scheffler has struggled with the flat stick all season long and that continued right away at the 44th Ryder Cup in Rome.
Scottie Scheffler was tabbed alongside teammate Sam Burns as the first Ryder Cup pairing for Friday foursomes at the 44th Ryder Cup.
That should be no surprise, as Scheffler is the number one ranked player in the world. He is miles ahead of nearly every golfer on the PGA Tour in almost every statistic except one: putting.
Scheffler has been atrocious with the flat stick this year. He is ranked 151st in the world in strokes gained putting. Unfortunately for Team USA, his putting woes reared its ugly head right away during the opening session of the Ryder Cup.
Scheffler and Burns were already one hole down heading to the par-4 4th. Following a great approach from Burns, Scheffler was left with just over seven feet.
It was a great opportunity for Team USA to square the match. Of course, Scheffler missed the pressure putt as Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton maintained their early lead.
Fans online were far from shocked.
Scottie Scheffler has a better chance of hitting the hole with a 20 yard chip than a 6 foot putt
— Big Drive Energy (@BigDriveEnergy) September 29, 2023
The very next hole, Scheffler missed a lengthy birdie putt. Meanwhile, Jon Rahm followed with a 31-foot birdie putt from off the green to go 2-UP.
Scheffler changed his putting coach just before the Ryder Cup.
That is yet to pay dividends.
However, in the alternate shot format of foursomes, Scheffler was able to put his wedge to work on the next hole and knocked it stiff. Burns then sank the birdie putt and they cut the deficit to one.
But Rahm then told the Americans to ‘hold my beer.’ He nearly aced the par-3 7th, hitting the flag stick. That pushed Team Europe to 2-UP in that match.
Thanks to Viktor Hovland, they are also in control of the second match of Friday Foursomes.
Kendall Capps is the Senior Editor/Site Manager of SB Nation’s Playing Through. For more golf content, follow us @_PlayingThrough on all major social platforms.