Scottie Scheffler is leaving no stone unturned in Paris. Although he wasn’t at the opening ceremony, the world no.1 has boarded the flight to France quite early. The Texas Tech alum is busy acquainting himself with the French greens. Can he return home with a gold medal hanging around his neck?

There are two ways to look at that. It’s hard to argue against his chances. But, Scheffler needs to align all the skills he has to make that work—something he hasn’t done at Royal Troon.

What’s Scheffler’s biggest strength at the Olympics?

In one word, it’s consistency. The world no.1 has mounted a campaign few have thought of since the peak Tiger Woods era. While sporadically, Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth, and even Dustin Johnson for a brief period showed relentless consistency, none outmatched the field like Scheffler is doing. 

Also, none could sustain the momentum as Scottie Scheffler has done since last year. In 2023, he only missed a few titles that should go with a spectacular form on the course. In the last six months, he has more than compensated for that. Scheffler ranks 1st in sg: approach, 2nd in sg: off the tee, and 3rd in sg: tee-to-green.

The two-time major winner is an absolute beast from 150-200 yards in the fairway. From that distance, Scottie Scheffler has found the greens a whopping 76.2% of the time. The 28-year-old walks into Le Golf National with all the shots in his arsenal. However, how well he can perform on away soil will determine his ultimate fate. And, his records won’t grace him with a smile.

Scottie Scheffler lacks the ‘away’ game experience

Scheffler doesn’t have much experience with the European setup. Le Golf National isn’t links golf, yes. However, the layout will be different from the traditional PGA Tour setup, where distance gives an obvious advantage.

Rather, the course will be in line with the DP World Tour layouts. Also, keep in mind that the contingent of European golfers are quite familiar with the setup. Le Golf National hosts the Open de France (French Open) every year. 

This year, Scheffler hasn’t teed off in the Genesis Scottish Open, making The Open his lone appearance on the other side of the pond. That relative inexperience could hurt the world no.1 as it stung him at the Ryder Cup. On top of it, Scheffler has one glaring weakness that has hurt his chances this season as well. Let’s also not forget, a few are too eager to capitalize on that mistake.

Will Scottie Scheffler’s putting woes give Xander Schauffele an edge?

Before the Open, it seemed at the Olympics, the battle would be between Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler. However, now that Xander Schauffele has become a two-time major champion, the conversation has tilted overwhelmingly in his favor. It’s not hard to see why. 

Although Scheffler has overshadowed pretty much everyone else, Schauffele still stands out for the staggering dominance he has shown. While Scheffler struggles with a flat stick, Schauffele’s dexterity covers it all.

On top of it, Xander Schauffele is in the middle of a torrid run of form, and with added motivation to defend his gold medal from Tokyo. The two majors, the last of which came courtesy of a steady 65 on Sunday, simply swat aside any criticism of his lack of guts to show up at big events.

But a relentless Schauffele also means the world no.1 can no longer get away with making mistakes. In the last twenty rounds, Scheffler barely managed to put his strokes gained: putting in positive territory (+0.02), ranking 88th across the PGA Tour and LIV Golf. Schauffele ranks considerably higher at 5th in the same period, gaining 1.06 strokes with the flat stick.

Scottie Scheffler’s wayward putting has cost him more top-five finishes and, of course, one more title at the Texas Children’s Houston Open. The three-putt from seven feet at Royal Troon threw him off guard, totally wrecking the Sunday charge he carefully pieced together. Overall, the 28-year-old ranks 90th in sg: putting in the PGA Tour this season. 

At Le Golf National, Scottie Scheffler’s biggest threat will come from himself. The world’s no.1 golfer needs to turn his putter hot at the right moments. An Olympic gold medal will definitely stop the debate around who is the best golfer of the season between him and Xander Schauffele. But the question is, can he do it?