Scottie Scheffler’s Pursuit of The Open: Talent Meets Old Wounds
The 2025 Open Championship at Royal Portrush has once again put Scottie Scheffler in the spotlight, and it’s the same old story with a new twist. Coming in as world No. 1, Scheffler wasted no time making his presence felt. He posted a three-under-par 68 in his first round, just one shot shy of the leaders—a tight logjam of five at the top. But behind those numbers is a familiar tension: Scheffler’s struggle with putting on links courses.
On paper, he looked sharp. Ranking 11th in Strokes Gained: Putting for the round, Scheffler even managed to pick up more than two strokes on the field with the flatstick. But when he talked to reporters afterward, there was no hiding it—he still feels out of sync with tricky links greens. The contrast with the lightning-fast, predictable greens he knows so well in the States is obvious, and he’s honest about the challenge. “It’s just a totally different feel underfoot and with the putter,” he’s said in the past of seaside setups like Portrush. “The pace, the undulation, the unpredictable roll… it demands something I’m still figuring out.”
Missed Fairways, Creative Recoveries, and Tense Greens
If you look closer at Scheffler’s opening round, the story gets bumpier. Out of 14 possible fairways, he managed to find only three with his driver—a surprisingly low number for a player at his level. Yet somehow, he still hit six of his first seven greens in regulation, showing the kind of creative problem-solving that’s become his hallmark in links golf. He ended his round in style, dropping birdies on two of the last three holes. That late surge nudged him right into the mix and matched his best-ever post-first round position at this major, previously a tie for fourth.
Statistically, Scheffler’s putting did show signs of progress this season. He jumped to 22nd in Strokes Gained: Putting coming into The Open, proof that his hours on the green have paid off. But links golf, especially under wind and unpredictable weather, seems to keep him guessing. Earlier this July at the Genesis Scottish Open, he actually lost strokes on the greens—just the third time all season. That slip renewed the chatter: Can Scheffler ever crack the code on European turf and truly dominate?
His raw skill with trajectory control and those delicate bump-and-run shots around the green give him an edge. He reads the wind and can turn a bunker escape into a highlight reel moment. But all the ball-striking and creativity in the world doesn’t matter if you can’t finish the job. And right now, the putter remains the one club holding him back from holding that famous Claret Jug over his head.
Scheffler’s story at Portrush is still unfolding. He’s shown grit and flashes of brilliance in conditions that force players to improvise constantly. But until he settles in on those ancient, bumpy links greens, he’ll keep carrying the same question into the next round: is this the week he finally conquers both the course and his own doubts?