Scottie Scheffler’s disastrous 3-putt derails Open chances

Scottie Scheffler was in striking distance of the lead, but then coughed up his chances with a brutal three-putt on the 9th hole.

Scottie Scheffler needed his putter to cooperate on Sunday if he wanted to win the Claret Jug and his second major of the season.

He struggled on the greens during Saturday’s third round, failing to make a putt longer than eight feet and ranking 78th out of 80 players in strokes gained putting.

But nothing could compare to the disaster that Scheffler experienced on the par-4 9th hole on Sunday at Royal Troon.

Sitting at 4-under-par, two behind the leaders, Scheffler hit his approach shot just short of the green. He then chipped up to about seven feet beyond the hole, a distance he has struggled from all week.

The World No. 1 missed his par attempt, as his ball rolled three feet past.

He failed to make that short-putt, too, settling for a double-bogey six that all but ended his chances.

Scheffler looked rattled after his blunder, and his game showed it. He could not settle into a groove as he came nowhere close to making a birdie over his next few holes. Granted, Royal Troon’s most challenging stretch is between the 10th and 14th, where birdies are rare, and pars are hard to come by. But Scheffler did not look like himself.

As a result, he will come up short of winning his second major of the season, as his putter has completely let him down all week at Royal Troon.

Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.