When world number one Scottie Scheffler reached out to one of golf’s most sought-after putting coaches in September 2023, he could not have imagined the transformation it would bring to his game.
The American was already a major champion and had won twice that season but he was in a fug. The statistics proved he was the best from tee to green. They also proved he was among the worst with a putter in hand.
PGA Tour players hole 90% of putts from four feet. At that time, Scheffler was making 80%. The best player in the world was ranked outside the top 150 in putting and fending off the same questions every week.
Step in Phil Kenyon, coach to the best in the game.
Within 12 months, Scheffler had risen into the top 15 putters and completed a remarkable season, winning seven PGA Tour events, including a second Masters, and an Olympic gold medal at the Paris Games.
And he arrives at this week’s Open Championship on the back of a run of three victories in his past 10 events – including winning his third major at the US PGA Championship – and finishing in the top 10 in the other seven to reaffirm his position as the world’s dominant player.
“That was a particular high for Scottie after some lows and a lot of discussion about his putting,” Kenyon told BBC Sport of the American’s major victory at Augusta National in April 2024.
“And for him to putt so well fairly early on in my role working with him, that was a highlight for me.”
So what did Kenyon tweak? He helped with green reading, to give Scheffler more confidence in his own ability. He helped change his grip.
But it was a switch from his trusted blade to a mallet putter “to help him with lining up putts” that really sparked a change in fortunes.
After another poor performance on the greens in February 2024, long-time friend and mentor Brad Payne – speaking in a PGA Tour documentary of that season – recounted a conversation they had in Scheffler’s Dallas home: “I said ‘buddy, how are you doing?’ and he said, ‘I don’t think I’m doing well’.”
That was after the Genesis Invitational, where Scheffler finished joint 10th. The mallet putter made its debut in his next event and Scheffler won four of his following five tournaments, including the Masters by four strokes.
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