Even Scottie Scheffler believes his chances at the U.S. Open are as good as over. A 5-over round on the moving day won’t get him anywhere; the world no. 1 has no qualms about admitting. The cutline is hovering around 5-over as of now but might move up. Scheffler last missed a cut at the 2022 Fed Ex St. Jude Championship, 672 days ago.

It’s his old nemesis—putting—that came back to haunt him at Pinehurst No. 2. On a day when he needed a few red circles on his scorecard, Scheffler picked two bogeys and a double. Speaking to the media after the second round, Scottie Scheffler said, “I don’t think 5-over is going to get me into the weekend. But I’m proud of how I fought today. I gave myself a good chance. Really yesterday I felt like I did a great job. Today I just couldn’t get the putts to fall.” 

Scheffler’s woes started quite early. Teeing off from the back nine, the 11-time PGA Tour winner tossed his putter in frustration after missing a par putt on the 15th. The ball took a terrible break inches away from the cup rolling towards the left. 

Only three bogeys, however, don’t cover the extent of Scheffler’s bad luck with the putter. The world no.1 lost 3.3 shots while putting in the second round. Yesterday, he lost 0.63. Overall, Scheffler ranks 142nd in strokes gained: putting. At the Masters Scheffler was the 22nd best in the field gaining 0.46 strokes to the field.

It was reminiscent of early this year when Scottie Scheffler was left scratching his head trying to find an end to his short-game misery. Scheffler tossed his club, hammered it onto the greens, and even threw his golf ball in frustration. It was Rory McIlroy who suggested an equipment change. And, that made all the difference between Scottie Scheffler and the rest of the field until now.

The Rory McIlroy advice that changed Scottie Scheffler

Mcllroy was in a similar boat as Scottie Scheffler. Rolling balls to the cup from a short distance proved to be a taxing job for the Ulsterman a few years back. However, shifting to a mallet putter eased the process for the four-time major winner. Still, Rory McIlroy is not the greatest putter on the Tour – he ranks 39th on the tour in SG: putting – but he gets the job done. 

Asked about Scheffler’s struggles, Rory McIlroy suggested the world no. 1 might give the mallet putter a shot. Oddly enough, Scheffler’s coach, too, suggested the same. Scheffler admitted it was funny timing because, at the very next event, the 27-year-old landed with a mallet putter. And he demolished the field at Bay Hill. 

Next, the 27-year-old former Texas Longhorn netted five titles in eight starts before the U.S. Open. Scheffler, in fact, came to Pinehurst No. 2 on the back of a grueling victory at the Memorial. Nevertheless, he couldn’t find his mojo at the U.S. Open, where the ball just didn’t seem to roll into the cup for the two-time major champion.