Sir Nick Faldo admitted he was baffled by Scottie Scheffler’s decision to make the world number one putt from off the green on the 72nd hole of the British Open Championship.
Scheffler must be wondering what could have happened at Royal Birkdale this week. The 30-year-old’s putter couldn’t have been colder, but he still found a way into the middle late in Sunday’s final round.
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After a dramatic birdie on the 17th hole, Scheffler was tied with Cameron Young at 9 under and needed a last-minute 3 to take the lead in the clubhouse.
Sir Nick Faldo is confused by Scotty Scheffler’s putter from outside the green on the final hole
Scheffler narrowly missed the bunker on the right side of the green. He was determined to get the flag removed and tried to hole the putt despite having problems with his flat stick all week.
He didn’t make the best putt and was about 10 feet away from par. And Sir Nick Faldo suggested on Sky Sports that Scheffler might have been much better off attempting a wedge shot.
Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images
“How is he reading this? We’re shocked because he had the perfect action of just wiping at a 60-degree angle,” he said.
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“I was amazed at how he brought in all the bumps. If he had a chance to hit the main line, he’d definitely leave it five yards short and there’s plenty of room on the green to squeeze it into the pin.”
“That’s the shot. Leave the pin in, aim for the pin, see how accurate it is. This is a one-hit wonder. I’m shocked he chose the putter.”
Scottie Scheffler explains his thoughts after defending British Open title
Scheffler is one of the best players in the world in every category, but his short game has been especially good in recent years.
And it’s hard to imagine he had as frustrating a week on the greens as he had at Royal Birkdale.
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So Faldo probably wasn’t the only one who was very surprised to see Scheffler choose to use a putter on the 18th.
Despite this, Scheffler seemed to suggest after the round that he was happy with his decision.
“It’s going uphill towards the hole. If I tried to bounce my shot with a wedge up that hill, it was a little maundy, and I was thinking of hitting a higher shot if I felt like I could stop it early enough on the green so that I didn’t have too much momentum left to the point where I still had a chance of going into the hole. But it was downhill there, with the wind, so I didn’t think I could stop it early enough,” he said.
“I thought I had too much momentum heading into the hole, so I decided to putt. I hit a good putt, but it didn’t go in.”
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As it turns out, it wasn’t Scheffler’s decision on the 18th hole that cost him his chance to retain the Claret Jug this week.
From tee to green, he played perfectly enough to win his fifth major title in the canter. However, unfortunately the putter was not good enough.
