Scottie Scheffler Can 'Feel The Benefits Already' After Recent Link Up With Putting Guru

Scottie Scheffler believes he can “feel the benefits already” of working with English putting guru, Phil Kenyon as he prepares for the upcoming Ryder Cup.

The current World No.1 is expected to be a key player for Team USA in the biennial match, but Scheffler has struggled with the flat stick throughout 2023 and is desperate to try and fix his stroke in order to play a significant role in what would be the Americans’ first away win in 30 years.

In a bid to do so, the 27-year-old has brought Kenyon into his limited coaching team - the man who has worked with the likes of Rory McIlroy, Brooks Koepka, and Justin Rose on their short game.

And since linking up with the English putting master immediately after the culmination of late August’s Tour Championship - where Scheffler endured a nightmare on the greens - America’s brightest star insists he has already noticed the benefits.

Scheffler said: “I called [Phil] maybe Monday after the TOUR Championship -- maybe even texted him Sunday night. It was something that I didn't want to think about as the year went on because it would have been a change, but right when the TOUR Championship ended, I was just thinking about it and I was like, oh, I'll see what he's up to. And he ended up coming to Dallas a few days later, and we got some good work in.

“I feel the benefits already. I'm more comfortable over the ball. I see the ball rolling end over end a lot more than I did a month ago, and it's exciting. Like I said, I have more direction in what I want to do. I feel like at times this year I would try one thing and a few weeks later I'd try another.

“I haven't felt like I've made a huge change. I just kind of got my mind right. I feel like we made little changes to where I'm more comfortable over the ball and now I don't have to think about my stroke. That's pretty much all it is.”

Scheffler dropped from 58th in strokes gained putting to 151st on the PGA Tour over the course of the past two seasons, leading him to adding the Southport-based staffer to his one-man coaching team of Randy Smith.

And the fact that Scheffler already feels better with putter in hand could be really bad news for Team Europe, given the American man finished first in total strokes gained, strokes gained off the tee, and strokes gained when approaching the green on the PGA Tour this past season.

Scheffler continued: “I had a feeling what I was doing wrong. It was something that -- my suspicions were kind of answered. It was just that I was trying to fix it in the complete wrong way. It was something I couldn't figure out, and it was preventing me from hitting as many putts on line as I should have.

“Now I feel like I'm much more consistent hitting my start line, especially my practice. If I get the setup correctly, the body will move correctly from there. I just needed a little bit more help.

“I've never really had an instructor teach me anything really other than Randy. It was something I was thinking about kind of towards the end of the year, and Phil was a guy that I had watched.

“He teaches a lot of really good putters, and he didn't seem like a method guy. So he was the first phone call that I wanted to make. And it's been great. He's a fascinating person to work with.”