Scottie Scheffler made a historic comeback at the 2023 Memorial Tournament, which took him from T65 after the cut to finish third, just one stroke behind the leaders. It was an incredible competition that perfectly showcased the player's strengths and weaknesses.
At the end of his participation in Muirfield Village, Scheffler registered the best Stroke Gained (SG) Tee to Green of the tournament and, at the same time, one of the worst SG: Putting, with -8.64. In layman's terms, Scheffler was the best at getting the ball from tee to green, but one of the worst at finishing the play.
Even so, the No. 1 in the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) was able to recover from a +2 in the first round and a +1 in the second, to close the gap on Saturday with -4 and get into the title discussion with his -5 in the fourth round. His overall -6 saw him finish just behind Denny McCarthy and the champion, Viktor Hovland.
Fans were not indifferent to Scheffler's spectacular comeback. Here are some of their reactions on Twitter:
"Scottie Scheffler could be Tiger Woods level great if he could figure out his putter. "
"I have to say this pretty much every weekend. SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER NEEDS A NEW CADDIE!!!! And he needs to launch his putter into the nearest lake."
"If Denny McCarthy putted for Scottie Scheffler, they would break the course record on most courses......"
"Scottie Scheffler's got the game but needs to work on his putting skills. Looks like he's gonna dominate once that improves."
"I missed 7 birdie putts inside 8 feet today. Basically Scottie Scheffler"
"Scottie Scheffler's strokes gained ranks this week at the moment: Tee-to-green: 1st | Approach: 1st | Around green: 1st | Putting: Last."
"Once again, Scottie Scheffler will come up just a little bit short because of his putting. Look how otherworldly he is in every other metric. Remarkable."
Scottie Scheffler's performance at the 2023 Memorial Tournament
Scottie Scheffler almost missed the cut at the Memorial Tournament, closing the second day at +3 (just off the limit). But he was able to go from strength to strength and score 68 and 67 strokes over the weekend, something not accomplished at Muirfield Village since 2019.
It was an 11-bogey tournament for Scheffler, but nine of those were committed in the first two rounds. When it came time to grow up, Scottie did so with just one missed stroke on Saturday and one more on Sunday. He also made 17 birdies, two-thirds of them during the weekend.
Thus, Scheffler will arrive as the OWGR No. 1 at the U.S. Open in two weeks.