PGA Tour statistics detail Scottie Scheffler’s putting struggles during the season

Scottie Scheffler could have won his third race of the season at the 2023 BMW Championship on Sunday.

Scheffler, who was tied with Viktor Hovland at 17-under, had a 26 foot putt to make birdie, but he three-putted, resulting in a disappointing bogey. He had to hole out from the fairway at No. If he wanted to force a play-off with Hovland despite Scheffler’s par, he had to hole out from the fairway on 18.

Scheffler came out on top in Strokes Gained Off the Tee and Approach to Green. In a 50-player field, he was 38th for Strokes Gained Putting. He lost 1.891 shots. The two shots that would have forced a play-off are rounded up.

With scores of 66, 69, 64 and 66 the 25-year old’s week on Olympia Fields Country Club North Course in Illinois is not to be laughed at. Hovland’s course record and career low were enough to defeat him. His performance at the BMW highlights the trend we’ve seen from the World No. The game is tight but the putter too loose.

“The things I’m working right now, I feel very enthusiastic about.” Scheffler said, “I’m hitting many good putts” before the Open Championship held in July. He claimed that his putting was not a problem. “Pretty quickly, many of those good puts will begin to fall in the middle of a hole instead of dodging along the side.”

This is the confidence that comes from four years of early PGA Tour success. In 110 starts, Scheffler has nine third-place finishes, seven runner up finishes, and six wins, with 91 cuts. Scheffler has not missed a cut in 22 events in this year. He was also in the top 25 of 20 of these starts and had 16 top tens, two wins, and six runners-up.

Scheffler has had a successful start to his career, despite a below-average performance at the greens.

Scheffler has putted consistently well over the past four years of his PGA Tour career.

Scottie’s struggle

Scheffler’s SG: Putting season was a rebound last year, but he only ranked 58th. He still managed to win four times. This is his worst year in SG:Putting since the 2019-20 Tour season. His total putting rank has also triple-digited for the fourth consecutive time. His overall putting average has also gotten worse over the past two seasons (103rd).

His one-putt rate is dramatically different (from 67th to 139th) which is a difficult look considering he leads Tour in SG: Greens in Regulation and Approach to Greens and sits 12th for proximity to the hole.

Scheffler’s only place in the top 40 distance categories this year is for putts of 25 feet and more. In the past three years, Scheffler was in the top 40 of at least three distance categories.

Stat	2022 to 23 ranking	2021-22 Ranking	2020-21 Ranking	2019-20 Ranking
SG: Put	145	58	107	117
Total putting	115	120	101	114
Average overall putting	103	82	43	56
One-putt percentage	139	67	58	57
Putt from 20-25 feet	124	5	40	68
Putt from 10 to 15 feet	170	9	160	52
Put inside 10 feet	135	155	81	161
Putt from 10 feet	183	25	91	144
Putt from 8 feet	174	159	163	121
Putt from 5 feet	164	174	62	75
Putts from 4-8 feet	172	180	102	126
Putt from 4 feet	131	107	142	171

Scottie’s success

Scheffler is ranked 24th for putting average, and 32nd for birdie conversion rate (both of which are lower than the previous years). The 2022 Masters winner is first in scoring and third in birdie rate. Is that a scary thought? He should have scored even more.

Stats show Scheffler consistently puts better in the last round than the first three rounds, something that hasn’t happened over the years.

His numbers are up from Thursday to Saturday, although he’s dropped from 122nd and 124th in the past two years.

Scheffler, despite his triple-jack on the 17th hole on Sunday, has managed to reduce his percentage of three-putts and is now ranked 13th in Tour.

Stat	2022 to 23 ranking	2021-22 Ranking	2020-21 Ranking	2019-20 Ranking
Average is a good thing	24	4	10	36
Birdie or better conversion %	32	8	12	13
Total number of putts in a round	103	82	43	57
Round 1 Putts	87	77	17	11
Putts per Round 2	145	90	52	21
Round 3 Putts	129	71	89	108
Putts per Round 4	62	122	124	162
3-putt avoidance	13	80	49	113
Putt from less than 25 feet	39	50	33	14
Putt from 15 to 20 feet	56	145	47	25
Putt from 9 feet	50	120	58	146
Putt from 7 feet	70	143	56	100
Putt from 6 feet	84	159	129	167
Putt from 3 Feet	77	132	42	169

It is difficult to analyze the game of someone who has just earned a record of $21 million and holds the No. 1 ranking in the world. 1 ranking. With skill and success, comes scrutiny if you are not performing at your best. Scheffler has never been an excellent putter statistically, and his performance on the greens this year was worse than in the three previous seasons. This is also his best overall season on Tour.

Imagine the level of golf if more putts were made.

Stats via PGA Tour.