Scottie Scheffler has been . . . off lately.
That much has been clear to anyone watching the world No. 1 this week at TPC Sawgrass. On Thursday, he hit just half of his fairways while posting an even-par 72, continuing a puzzling trend of slow(ish) starts in 2026. Once again, the first page of the leaderboard is curiously missing Scheffler’s name.
“Just little stuff,” Scheffler said of his Thursday struggles. “Just got to be a little sharper.”
Among that stuff: flip-flopping between drivers as he tries to settle into a gamer for 2026.
Even a “not-himself” Scheffler is, of course, still very good. He already has a win and two other top-five finishes this season and ranks third on Tour in SG: Total. But when you’re regularly drawing comparisons to Tiger Woods, even the slightest dip in form gets magnified.
That’s why, on Thursday evening, the cast of Golf Channel’s Live From spent time analyzing Scheffler’s range session as dusk settled over Sawgrass.
“I don’t even recognize this golf swing from Scottie Scheffler,” Chamblee said. “It’s a foot and a half shorter than it was last year and the face is wide open.”
Fellow analyst Paul McGinley agreed.
“It’s quite clear how much shorter his swing is now,” McGinley said. “Generally, in my experience, when your swing gets shorter, it has to do with anxiety. You’re not free-flowing. You’re trying to poke it down there. You’re afraid to miss it.”
With much of TPC Sawgrass’ trouble off the tee lurking down the left side — historically Scheffler’s miss — it’s possible he’s subconsciously guarding against it.
When a swing shortens, there are usually a couple possible explanations. One is reduced turn. But as the broadcast pointed out Friday, Scheffler’s shoulder turn still appears as full as ever. The other possibility is reduced wrist hinge at the top of the swing. With the right miss now creeping in, that explanation seems more likely.
The encouraging news for Scheffler is that the issue appears fixable. For a player of his caliber, it’s probably only a matter of time before he finds his rhythm again.
“This is not a crisis,” McGinley said. “This is a bump in the road.”
