GUIDONIA MONTECELIO, Italy — Scottie Scheffler is the No. 1 player in the world and played the best golf of anyone this year, at least until he got onto the green. His putting was becoming a liability, and Scheffler wasted no time after the PGA Tour postseason getting it fixed.
He sent a text the Sunday night after the Tour Championship to Phil Kenyon in England, regarded as among the best teachers when it comes to putting.
Kenyon agreed to come to Dallas a few days later, and they went to work.
“It was something I was thinking about towards the end of the year, and Phil was a guy that I had watched. He teaches a lot of really good putters, and he didn’t seem like a method guy. So he was the first phone call that I wanted to make,” Scheffler said.
Scheffler has had only Randy Smith as an instructor, and Smith thought it was a good idea to bring in someone like Kenyon who specializes in putting. Scheffler said Smith attended their sessions so he could be a set of eyes when Kenyon is not there.
“I had a feeling what I was doing wrong,” Scheffler said. “It was just I was trying to fix it in the complete wrong way.”
The short version of the problem is that the toe of the putter kept rising as he stroked the golf ball, causing him to hit a little on the heel. To keep the putter low, he would lower his hands. But that actually caused the toe to rise even higher.
“So as the year went on, my hands are getting lower and lower, and the problem is getting worse and worse,” Scheffler said. “It was something I couldn’t figure out, and it was preventing me from hitting as many putts on line as I should have.”
Scheffler’s consistency was astonishing this year. He won twice, including The Players Championship, and had a stretch of 16 consecutive tournaments against strong fields when he didn’t finish outside the top 12. He had chances in the PGA Championship and U.S. Open, all without making many putts.
After his work with Kenyon, Scheffler said he is more consistent hitting the starting line on his putts. He’s seeing the golf ball roll properly, more than it did a month ago.
“And it’s exciting. It’s good for me to have a little direction,” he said.
Exciting for Europe? Maybe not. Among players Kenyon works with is Tommy Fleetwood of England. So the English coach is splitting time between Team Europe and Team USA.
Kenyon also was working with Gary Woodland when he nearly won the 2018 PGA Championship and went on to capture the U.S. Open a year later. He has many clients from all over the world.
“I would never wish poorly on anybody, and I’m glad that Phil has the opportunity to work with someone like Scottie and help him along in his career,” Fleetwood said, before smiling to add, “Hopefully, his putting takes another week to really get hot.”
And if Scheffler gets back to putting the way he did when he won the Masters a year ago during his steady rise to No. 1 in the world?
“When he came to Dallas, I was joking with him,” Scheffler said. “I told him his stuff is going to work so well he’s not going to be welcome back at his home club when he gets home after the Ryder Cup.”
