Did Rory McIlroy Trigger Scottie Scheffler’s Big Putting Change? World no.1 Golfer Dishes the Dirt

Scottie Scheffler threw the ball into the range of trees on the par-5 11th at Riviera. Who wouldn’t after missing six birdies? The next few holes didn’t offer the World No. 1 any solace either. Scheffler, who was leading the field in strokes gained off the tee, almost rammed the club into his own foot on the par-3 16th after missing a ten-footer. He eventually tied for the 10th spot.

Rory McIlroy, world no. 2, was asked about his suggestion to his peer. “I’d love to see Scottie try a mallet,” the Northern Irishman, who had his fair share of troubles early in his career, said. Cut to the Arnold Palmer Invitational; what is in Scheffler’s bag if not a mallet putter? Did he take McIlroy’s advice? Or is it just a surprise coincidence?

McIlroy’s advice did reach Scottie Scheffler

It turns out Rory McIlroy wasn’t the only one to suggest Scheffler a mallet putter. His swing coach, Randy Smith, thought of this as well. Scheffler said, “My coach Randy joked about that at home because he had already thought about it.” Scheffler was spotted using a TaylorMade Spider Tour X (X1) putter with a 3-degree loft and 72-degree lie angle at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

Only two weeks ago, McIlroy said, “For me, going to a mallet was a big change. I really persisted with the blade putter for a long time. But I just feel like your stroke has to be so perfect to start the ball on line, where the mallet just gives you a little bit more margin for error.” Scottie Scheffler, too, has mostly used blades in his career.

But does McIlroy’s advice work for him? Scheffler said in the second-round press meet, “I think, as a lot of good players out here know, something that works for Rory may not work for me, and something that works for me may not work for Rory. I did hear that he said that, and it was just kind of funny timing.” 

Scheffler had used a variety of putters in his short career. His maiden victory at the 2022 WM Phoenix Open came with the Scotty Cameron Special Select Timeless Prototype. Then he switched to a Scotty Cameron Blade at last year’s U.S. Open before moving to Mallet at the FedEx St. Jude last year. However, once again, Scheffler fell back on his blade putter at the 2023 Hero World Challenge, where he won. That failed to give him the momentum he expected, which is how we arrived here.

How has Scheffler performed with his new putter?

Scheffler’s putts per GIR after the second round are the 18th-best in the field. But he has been losing strokes compared to the field. His Strokes Gained: Putting is -1.052 after the second round, moving in the same direction as his SG: Putting of -4.358 at the Genesis Invitational.

Scheffler made five birdies and an eagle on Friday to move up 19 spots on the leaderboard. Scheffler heads to the moving day in a six-way tie with first-round leader Shane Lowry, Genesis champion Hideki Matsuyama, two of last year’s Major champions, Brian Harman and Wyndham Clark, and Russell Henley. McIlroy, on the other hand, tied for the 30th spot, carding a 2-under 70 on Friday. 

Read More: Scottie Scheffler’s Putting Struggles Need a Fix, the Quicker the Better

Clark’s 6-under 66 was the best performance on a day where most players struggled to break 70. The Arnold Palmer Invitational is the second signature event to have a cutline. Among the big names, defending champion Kurt Kitayama, Tommy Fleetwood, Adam Scott, and Matt Fitzpatrick failed to make the cut.

Read More: ‘Getting Worse’: Scottie Scheffler’s Past Outcry Went Unanswered as Putting Woes Persist