Scheff hits the wall
Adrenaline crash stops grand slam dreams; Lowry: 'I should have shot 61'
Scottie Scheffler couldn’t keep pace with turmoil (Darren Carrol/PGA of America)
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The tumultuousness of making national headlines, getting arrested, being handcuffed, booked into a local jail and fingerprinted — all in a matter of hours — did not stop him.
But the game of golf finally did.
After somehow overcoming all the obstacles — some of which were self-inflicted — during Friday’s unreal day at Valhalla, Scottie Scheffler could not back it up on Saturday. Whatever adrenaline that carried him through his eventful Friday, that started with being arrested in a traffic incident, finally crashed his system on Saturday and snapped his seemingly impermeable streak of excellence dating back to last season.
A day after shooting 66 after his release from jail, Scheffler couldn’t reproduce the same magic on Saturday. He made a gruesome double bogey on the second, a three-putt bogey at the third and penalty-shot bogey at the fourth to fall 4-over through 4. He’d dug himself too big a hole to extend his streak of 42 consecutive rounds of par or better that came up 10 shy of Tiger Woods’ record 52 rounds during his peak in 2000-01.
He battled the rest of the day that included five birdies, five bogeys and the double to a 2-over 73, his worst round since he shot 3-over 73 last August in the Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club. The two-time Masters winner, who has won four of his previous five starts, dropped into a tie for 24th place.
Scheffler told CBS after the round that he was flat, felt different and didn’t have the same kind of usual morning routine.
“I definitely didn’t feel like myself for sure,’’ Scheffler said. “Yesterday happened and didn’t feel the same. This morning was definitely not my usual routine for a round.’’
He dropped out of contention in an attempt to win his second straight major title and keep a Grand Slam possibility alive.
“It was a tough day,’’ Scheffler said. “I got off to a tough start. Battled as hard as I could. But every time I would make a birdie, I would bogey the next hole. I made too many mistakes today. I’m frustrated. But I will come back tomorrow.”