World No.2 Scottie Scheffler recently revealed he was trying a new putter after suffering frustration on the green in recent tournaments.
However, despite using it in the CJ Cup, the American lost his World No.1 position after finishing tied for 45th. After persevering with the new club over the first two rounds of last week’s World Wide Technology Championship at El Camaleon Golf Club, he revealed he has switched back to his old putter.
Scheffler enjoyed a far more successful tournament in Mexico, but it was his performance in the final two rounds that really put him in contention. After rounds of 65 and 71 on Thursday and Friday, Scheffler produced rounds of 68 and 62 to finish tied for third.
Given such a strong finish, Scheffler explained that he would continue using his old putter during this week’s Houston Open as he eyes a chance to reclaim the World No.1 spot. He said: “I’m always working and trying things. I’ve always been a guy that makes little changes at a time, I don’t really make huge changes, and this is the kind of time of year where I’ll test stuff out and see if it works and doesn’t work.
“I switched putters at the CJ Cup. I felt like I was putting OK, I was hitting a lot of good putts, the ball just wasn’t going in the hole, and it was more of the same at the beginning of the week last week. So after Friday’s round I was like, well, let me see if it’s me or it’s the putter or whatever it is. I kind of went back to my old putter, something I’m comfortable with, and I putted pretty good over the weekend, so using it again this week. Seemed like the little bit of an experiment failed."
Scheffler needs to win this week’s tournament to move back to the World No.1 position, which he admits he has his eye on even though it doesn’t affect his motivation. He said: “Well, it definitely matters to me. I don’t let a ranking define what I think of myself as a player. It was definitely fun being No.1 in the world and it’s something I hope to get back to, but all my motivation’s always been internal. I’m a crazy competitive person, so for me, I haven’t really needed much outward focus to kind of get motivated to come out and play.”
If Scheffler's trusty putter performs as well as it did for him over the weekend in Mexico, the 26-year-old will be hopeful of returning to the summit within a matter of days.
