OAKMONT, PA. Coming into the 125th US Open at Oakmont there was little question who the clear favorite was — Scottie Scheffler.
Having won three of his last four starts – with one of them being the PGA Championship — the belief was the world-ranked number one player had the ideal game to win on a golf course where past greats have proven themselves.
Throughout the event a balky putter and inconsistent driving proved too great an obstacle for him to overcome.
Scheffler’s putting skills have clearly improved from past years but the failure to make key putts at critical moments is what kept him out of serious contention at Oakmont.
For the 72 holes, Scheffler would endure seven three-putt greens with five misses from five feet and under.
Such a woeful outcome with the flatstick clearly prevented him from being even closer to the top of the leaderboard.
The putting surfaces at Oakmont are among the most challenging in the sport and when any players cannot putt consistently well on the vexing sloped targets the wherewithal to max out scoring opportunities will simply hold one back in the final outcome.
There is also the glaring reality that for the last nine rounds played in the US Open the 28-year-old has failed to break par in each of those situations. The last time he did so was in the third round during the 2023 US Open at Los Angeles CC.
After the round, Scheffler provided a straightforward answer in assessing his overall play.
“It was just challenging. There was a lot of pitch on the greens and you got to do a lot right in order to hole putts. I was just right on the edge today.”
Scheffler would birdie the 17th to get to plus-three for the championship but a misplaced tee shot at the final hole resulted in a closing bogey.
How did golf’s top player view his week at Oakmont?
“My main takeaway is I battled as hard as I did this week. I was really proud mentally of how I was over the course of four days. I did a lot of things out there that could really kind of break a week, and I never really got that one good break that kind of propels you. I’d hit it this far off, and seemingly every time I did, I was punished pretty severely for it.
“If I had four days like I did today, I think it would have been a different story. I was playing kind of behind the eight ball most of the week hitting the ball in the rough. Overall, proud of how I battled, gave myself a chance, but ultimately didn’t have enough.”
Golf’s top player travels to Connecticut this week in defense of his Travelers Championship title. The host course — TPC River Highlands – will be a scoring bonanza given the headaches Oakmont provided. Such a venue may be the ideal setting for Scheffler to once again find his way back to the winner’s circle for the fourth time this year.
Oakmont, thankfully for Scheffler, now moves to his rear-view mirror.
