Sir Nick Faldo has admitted that he was baffled by the decision Scottie Scheffler made on the 72nd hole of The Open Championship, with the world number one putting from off the green.
Scheffler must be wondering what could have been this week at Royal Birkdale. The 30-year-old’s putter could have hardly been colder, and yet, he found a way to put himself in the mix coming down the stretch during Sunday’s final round.
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After a dramatic birdie on the 17th hole, Scheffler needed to make a three on the last to join Cameron Young at nine under par and take the clubhouse lead.
Sir Nick Faldo baffled by Scottie Scheffler using a putter from off the green on the final hole
Scheffler was just short of the bunker on the right of the green. He decided to have the flag removed and attempted to try and hole a putt – despite the issues he had with the flat stick throughout the week.
He did not hit the best putt, leaving himself around 10 feet for his par. And speaking on Sky Sports, Sir Nick Faldo suggested that Scheffler would have been much better off attempting to hole a wedge shot.
Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images
“How is he reading this? We are shocked because he had the perfect action where he just wipes across it with the 60 degree,” he said.
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“I am surprised he brought in all the humps and bumps. If you get a chance to mainline it, surely just leave it five yards short and on the green he has plenty of room and jam it into the pin.
“That’s the shot. Leave the pin in, aim at the pin and see how accurate you are. It’s a one hit wonder. I am shocked he went with putter.”
Scottie Scheffler explains his thinking as his Open Championship defence concludes
Scheffler is one of the best players in the world in all categories, but his short game has been particularly outstanding in recent years.
And it is hard to imagine that he has had a more frustrating week on the greens than he did at Royal Birkdale in a very long time.
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So Faldo probably was not the only person who was extremely surprised to see Scheffler opt to use the putter on the 18th.
Nevertheless, Scheffler seemed to suggest after his round that he was happy with the decision that he made.
“Momentum going up towards the hole. If I was to bounce it with a wedge into that hill, it was a little bit moundy, and if I felt I could have stopped it quick enough on the green to not have too much momentum to where it still had a chance to go in the hole, I was thinking about hitting a higher shot. But with the wind helping there and being on the downslope, I didn’t think I could get it to stop quick enough,” he said.
“I thought it was going to have too much momentum as it went towards the hole. So I elected to putt it. Hit a good putt, just didn’t go in.”
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Ultimately, it was not the decision on the 18th hole that cost Scheffler the chance to retain his Claret Jug this week.
From tee to green, he absolutely played well enough to win a fifth major title at a canter. But unfortunately, the putter was nowhere near good enough.
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