Scottie Scheffler by no means panicked, despite the fact that he had each cause to take action halfway by means of his second spherical at Le Golf Nationwide.
The highest-ranked participant on the planet uncharacteristically rifled his drive approach proper of the seventh fairway because it got here to relaxation in some whispy, gnarly hay. The tall, thick grass fully blanketed his ball, leaving Scheffler no selection however to hack it out. However the lie was so unhealthy that the big-swinging Texan solely hit it 4 ft in entrance of him, a stunning sight that {the golfing} world hardly ever sees. His second landed in additional tall grass, resulting in a quite tough state of affairs.
“I took a sand wedge out of there and swung actually laborious. I assumed it will come out, and I used to be shocked,” Scheffler stated of his second on the seventh gap.
“The subsequent one, I hit about 70 yards from the thick stuff. I practiced in it and knew the place I hit it was a reasonably unhealthy spot with how low it was, and that’s the place the water collects. So you recognize it’s going to be thick down there. I knew to not hit it there, and I did in any case.”
Scheffler discovered a few of the healthiest hay on the golf course and paid a steep worth. He made a double-bogey on the par-4 seventh gap, dropping again to 2-under for the championship and 10 pictures off the lead.
However he didn’t panic.
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Photograph by Emmanuel Dunand/AFP through Getty Photographs
He stayed affected person as a substitute.
“Round a golf course like this the place the scores are going to proceed to get decrease, it may very well be robust to catch up,” Scheffler stated.
“I do know if I keep affected person round this golf course and play effectively, I can shoot a low rating. It’s only a matter of if I begin freaking out and begin forcing issues, you’re going to get in hassle actually quick.”
Scheffler calmed the storm after making the flip, making 4 birdies on the again 9 to vault again into the combo at 6-under. He’s nonetheless 5 pictures again of Xander Schauffele, Tommy Fleetwood, and Hideki Matsuyama, however he did an admirable job of splitting the deficit he confronted in half.
“I wanted to do one thing to get again within the event, and I did a superb job,” Scheffler stated.
“I believe that’s the inner battle you’ve gotten of staying affected person.”
He made two fast birdies on the par-4 tenth and par-3 eleventh holes, the latter of which was a 26-foot make. His two different par-breakers had been on the par-5 14th and par-4 seventeenth.
“I want to be main. However like I stated, I’m pleased with the again 9,” Scheffler added.
“Bought myself again into it. I used to be fairly far again, so it was good to string some good holes collectively and gap some putts. Undoubtedly trip that momentum the following couple of days.”
With a view to maintain that momentum, Scheffler must keep his focus and stay within the current—one thing he has finished so effectively all through the 2024 season, a season that has seen him win six occasions on the PGA Tour. However the reigning Masters champion admitted that he misplaced a bit of depth at occasions, particularly on the seventh gap, the place his spherical briefly turned for the worst.
“That shot I hit off seven, I believe I used to be only a bit distracted by some stuff and will have targeted a bit higher,” Scheffler stated.
“It was an uncharacteristic swing for me. After that, you hit it within the hay, you don’t know what’s going to occur. I knew if I hit it down there, I used to be going to be fairly screwed.”
Little question that Scheffler discovered himself in a precarious state of affairs on the seventh, however not like most golfers, the World No. 1 bounced again admirably, shifting his focus again on himself and his recreation. Now he has an outdoor shot at a medal, however at the least he has a shot, one thing that didn’t appear potential after he walked off the seventh inexperienced.
Jack Milko is a golf workers author for SB Nation’s Enjoying By means of. Make sure you try @_PlayingThrough for extra golf protection. You possibly can observe him on Twitter @jack_milko as effectively.
