Scottie Scheffler's putter has somewhat been an achilles heel for him during his rise to the top of the game, but the World No.1 has turned it around on the greens this year and has taken it to a new level at the 2025 Open.
With the flat stick firing, Scheffler is, unsurprisingly, unstoppable.
Through 54 holes, the three-time Major winner leads the field in Strokes Gained: Putting with a total of +7.868. He is also 2nd in SG: Approach, a combination that tells the story of how he is four strokes clear with 18 holes to play.
Working with putting guru Phil Kenyon, Scheffler switched to the claw grip in December and went on to win the Hero World Challenge in his very next start. He sometimes still uses a conventional grip on the longer putts, but from inside 20ft he firmly relies on the claw.
"At the end of last year, I always kind of assess things and see if there's ways we can improve. That was something we tested out in the Bahamas last year and felt comfortable from the start," he said.
"I use it [the claw grip] as we get closer to the hole, lag putting. Outside of 15 to 20 feet, I'm still putting conventional. It was something we felt could help us improve, and so far it has."
That was after a switch to the TaylorMade Spider Tour X mallet putter earlier in 2024, which reaped immediate rewards as Scheffler won the Arnold Palmer Invitational, the first of nine titles worldwide including The Masters, the Olympic Gold Medal and his first FedEx Cup.
The World No.1 moved to the Spider X mallet in 2023 and it has stayed in the bag ever since
After a hand injury caused by making ravioli on Christmas Day, Scheffler's 2025 season took a little longer than he'd have expected to get underway but for the year so far he now has three PGA Tour wins including his third Major victory at the PGA Championship.
Having ranked 162nd in Strokes Gained: Putting in 2023, losing 0.301 strokes per round, and 77th in 2024, Scheffler is up to 22nd on the PGA Tour this year in what is by far his best season with the flat stick in hand - gaining an average of 0.362 strokes per round on the greens.
That is while he ranks 1st in SG: Total, Tee to green, Off the tee and Approach.
Scheffler switched to the claw grip in December
He ranks 4th in Putting Average with 1.713, 8th in Birdie Or Better Conversion Percentage, 15th in Putts Per Round and 18th in One-Putt Percentage - all while being by far the best player in the world from tee to green.
These are statistics that put him head and shoulders above anyone else in world golf right now.
His form on the greens was something that third round playing partner Matt Fitzpatrick was impressed by, to say the least.
"His putting is night and day obviously. From what you guys all talk about how bad it was at one point, I didn't play with him really in that period," the Englishman told media after witnessing Scheffler's bogey-free 67 on Saturday.
"He's just not missed a putt today. There isn't one putt that he's missed, and that's obviously the difference that's taken him to this unbeatable run, which is annoying for me that Phil Kenyon shared those secrets."
Putting guru Phil Kenyon is an integral part of Scheffler's coaching team
"I think there's some pretty subtle slopes in these greens. I've done a really good job just being committed to my line," Scheffler said.
"Today I hit some good putts to start the round. I had a little three-putt there on the second hole, but I felt like I hit two putts the way I wanted to and I didn't let it bother me.
"I made a really nice putt there on the third hole to keep the momentum going. It was a little 10-footer for par, and that was what I felt like was a really important putt, and knocked it in. Then after that I felt like I did some good things out there."
Scottie Scheffler putting stats through the years: PGA Tour Strokes Gained
- 2020: 117th
- 2021: 107th
- 2022: 58th
- 2023: 162nd
- 2024: 77th
- 2025: 22nd
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