The remarkable consistency of Scottie Scheffler

First day of The Masters, and what a surprise to see Scottie Scheffler shooting a bogey-free 66 to sit one shot off the lead.

Obviously, it’s no surprise at all. It’s exactly what everyone expects Scheffler to produce, and it’s pretty much what he does in every round he plays.

Let’s just look at this competitive rounds so far in 2024:

• The Sentry 66-64-71-66 (T5)
• The Amex 67-66-69-65(T17)
• Pebble Beach 69-64-70 (T6)
• Phoenix 68-66-66-66 (T3)
• Genesis 68-70-70-68 (T10)
• Bay Hill 70-67-70-66 (1)
• The Players 67-69-68-64 (1)
• Houston 65-70-66-68 (T2)
• The Masters 66 (2)

And all this from a man who can’t putt very well.

It absolutely blows my mind that someone can be that consistently good. What I would give to just consistently score in the mid-80s round my home course!

Obviously, all these guys at the top end of the pro game can produce great golf over a couple of rounds, or even for a whole tournament, but to do it that consistently over time just seems almost other-worldly.

And he does it without ever really looking like he’s playing very well. There’s very little drama, very few miraculous recovery shots, and not too many long putts going in.

He can shoot 66 and it feels like he should be around even par. This is how Rory describes it:

“Scottie does such a good job of – it doesn’t look like it’s 6-under par, and then at the end of the day it’s 6-under par. He’s just so efficient with everything.

“If you look at Scottie compared to the rest of the field, the amount of bogey-free rounds he plays and he shoots is phenomenal, and that’s the secret to winning major championships and winning big-time golf tournaments is more limiting the mistakes rather than making a ton of birdies.

‘Efficient’ is exactly the right word. It’s almost boring, and I do prefer watching the players like Rory and Spieth who create a bit more drama, but you’ve got to admire the way Scheffler goes about his business.

Will he follow up this 66 with three more very, very good rounds and take another green jacket? I certainly wouldn’t bet against it.