PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – Relative to the ridiculously high bar he’s created, it was another pedestrian result for Scottie Scheffler at The Players Championship. But then the world No. 1 didn’t seem to have much interest in the expectations of others at TPC Sawgrass.
Scheffler closed with an eventful 71 at the PGA Tour’s flagship event and he was tied for 20th when he completed his round just as the final pairing was making the turn. Following his T-24 finish last week at Bay Hill, his performance at TPC Sawgrass was sure to generate plenty of opinions — but Scheffler was at peace with his game as evidenced by his response Saturday to a question from the media:
Was there anything you found in that range session late on Thursday? You spent a couple hours working?
“Did I find anything? I think that would imply that I was lost, which is not the case,” Scheffler said. “No, I think I’m always just trying to get a feel for where things are at, and sometimes a little practice helps, and sometimes a little rest helps.”
In Scheffler’s defense, his driving improved over the weekend, but his normally sublime ball-striking is still well short of his established brilliance. He finished the week 44th in strokes gained: off the tee and 28th in strokes gained: tee to green, the pillars of his all-world game.
Although he’s played the Houston Open the last two years as his final tune-up before the Masters, it’s unclear if that’s the plan this year.
“Undecided,” the two-time Masters champ said this week when asked if he intended to play another event before Augusta.