Scottie Scheffler enters US Open prep frustrated but still favored, with Shinnecock Hills standing between him and the career Grand Slam.
Scottie Scheffler is still the US Open favorite, but he isn’t exactly rolling into Shinnecock Hills with his game on cruise control.
After finishing T12 at The Memorial, Scheffler admitted his week was “pretty frustrating,” which is not the kind of quote that usually follows the best player in the world into a major championship.
READ MORE: PGA Tour’s Australia Move Puts LIV On Notice
Still, that’s what makes this US Open setup so fascinating. Scheffler is chasing the one major missing from his resume, and he’s doing it while trying to clean up mistakes he usually doesn’t make.
That should have everyone’s attention.
Scheffler is skipping the Canadian Open, choosing individual work over another tournament start before the US Open begins June 18. That decision makes sense.
He doesn’t need reps just to say he played. He needs sharpness, especially with Shinnecock Hills waiting to punish every lazy swing, loose wedge and careless lag putt.
At The Memorial, Scheffler wasn’t terrible. That’s the absurd standard he’s created. A T12 finish would be a strong week for most players, but for Scheffler, it felt like a missed chance.
He couldn’t stack enough momentum, couldn’t make the big weekend charge and kept running into the kind of small errors that turn birdie runs into sideways afternoons.
He pointed to three-putts, bunker mistakes and a ball in the hazard as examples of the little things that stalled him. That’s the real concern.
Scheffler’s power, ball-striking and competitive engine are still there. The question is whether the margins are tight enough for a US Open, where “almost clean” usually isn’t good enough.
Vegas isn’t panicking. Scheffler remains the betting favorite at +550, ahead of Rory McIlroy at +900. That says plenty.
Oddsmakers still trust the body of work more than one uneven week, and they should. Scheffler has been too good for too long to suddenly be treated like a question mark.
But the US Open is different.
Scheffler finished T2 in 2022, but he still hasn’t won this championship. A victory would give him the career Grand Slam, placing him in the sport’s rarest air.
That’s the prize sitting in front of him, and Shinnecock isn’t exactly offering a friendly path.
READ MORE: PGA TOUR Picks Get Spicy In Canada
Scheffler described the course as wide in appearance but tight in reality, with small landing areas, firm greens and plenty of uncomfortable sight lines off the tee. In other words, it’s a perfect US Open trap.
Scheffler has a week to tighten the screws. If he does, the Grand Slam chase gets very real. If he doesn’t, Shinnecock will expose everything.
Join Our Roundtable Community For Free!
Share your takes, connect with our Roundtable writers, and talk sports with fellow fans. Download the free Roundtable App today and stay closer to the conversation.
