2024 U.S. Open: Scottie Scheffler rethinking approach, preparation after sneaking into weekend at Pinehurst

PINEHURST, NC – The heavy favorite to win the 2024 U.S. Open barely managed to stay in the field over the weekend. Scottie Scheffler fell down the leaderboard by posting a 74 in the second round at Pinehurst on Friday, his second consecutive subpar effort in North Carolina. Whether his 5-over championship score would be good enough to make it to the weekend was only determined later in the day, but the two-time Masters champion had already moved on to the post-mortem process of trying to figure out what went wrong in a big tournament. start of the championship that appears to be an anomaly for the number 1 golfer in the world.

Scheffler entered this US Open with a string of seven top-10 finishes in his last 10 major matches. He has made 38 consecutive cuts on the PGA Tour and has played the weekend in every major the past two years — almost never coming close to missing one.

Unlike some stars who are historically limited by the difficult style of a USGA setup, Scheffler’s last three US Open finishes before Pinehurst were T7, T2 and 3rd.

So the hottest golfer in the game, who is so far out of the lead after 36 holes – 10 behind the clubhouse leader by the time his round ended – requires a self-assessment of what went wrong. For Scheffler, what has stood out so far is that his preparation for the tournament could have been improved.

Winning the Memorial last Sunday added to the tradition of Scheffler’s dominance this season; It marked its fifth victory of the year and arrived on a course that demands excellence from its champions. Scheffler’s Rolodex of wins this year was impressive, given the tournaments, courses and courses: Bay Hill, TPC Sawgrass, Augusta National, Harbor Town and Muirfield Village. That success brought his betting odds even closer to the “Scottie or the course” category, as the man who has been No. 1 in the world in golf since March 2022 prepared to tee off in one of the toughest tests of the season.

But it’s that preparation process that Scheffler believes may have gotten off track at Pinehurst.

“There is definitely an aspect [fatigue], and that is something I will consider in my preparations,” Scheffler said after Friday’s round. “I think from now on it’s something I’m really going to look at more closely, preparing for the majors. Augusta is someone I’m well prepared for, I discovered I didn’t like playing the previous week and maybe I’ll adopt more of that strategy this time. Because there was definitely a tired aspect, but I was ready to play.”

Scheffler elaborated that in addition to being tired, he didn’t feel as prepared as he could have been for the native areas around Pinehurst No. 2. He noted that he might not need to avoid the tournament leading up to the U.S. Open, but at least make a trip to the USGA headquarters site to obtain additional championship preparation work.

The native areas were a particular pressure point for Scheffler after he and his playing partners Rory McIlroy and Xander Schauffele hit and rolled off the green into a native area on the par-5 5th hole. to hold the slippery greens with run-offs resulted in double bogeys for Scheffler and Schauffele. (This made Rory’s pair look like an eagle, considering their starting position.)

“Probably on any other golf course, if I hit those two shots — driver, 3-wood into a green on a par 5 — I’ll probably get a good look at birdie and not come away with a 7,” Scheffler said.

In terms of advancing the game, Scheffler wasn’t too disheartened. He wasn’t happy with his swing on Thursday, but he managed to score a few scores. Although his passing improved on Friday, he was unable to capitalize on it. Before the disaster on No. 5, Scottie took a look at the birdies on Nos. 2-4. If one of those shots falls, Scheffler may be facing an entirely different situation come the weekend.

“I’m proud of how I fought today, I gave myself a good chance. You know, yesterday I felt like I did a great job and today I just couldn’t make the shots fall,” Scheffler said. “This golf course can be unpredictable at times and perhaps that has gotten the better of me the last few days. I’m going to sit down and think about what went wrong the last few days to find out.”