Kevin Kisner has revealed that Scottie Scheffler only practiced with the clubs he thought he could end up using ahead of the playoff with Viktor Hovland on Monday at the Travelers Championship, as he also suggested the reason he missed the putt to extend the duel.
Scheffler has now finished second on four occasions this year on the PGA Tour. The world number one appeared to have the final signature event of the season within his grasp when the rain came on Sunday.
The delay definitely appeared to favour Hovland. Scheffler did not make another birdie when play resumed, while the Norwegian was able to move level.
How Scottie Scheffler prepared on the range before the playoff at the Travelers Championship
Scheffler showed plenty of heart to make the nine-foot putt on the 72nd hole to force a playoff. But once again, his momentum was halted with the decision made to return to TPC River Highlands on Monday for the additional holes.
Ultimately, the playoff was over inside 15 minutes. Scheffler hit the better iron shot, leaving himself three feet for birdie. However, it was Hovland who made a three. And the American was unable to follow him in, meaning that Hovland secured his eighth PGA Tour victory.
Few players seem to love the process quite like Scheffler. From the outside, it appears that no one at the highest level works harder on just gripping the club correctly.
So it is intriguing that he took a different approach to prepare for Monday’s playoff, as Kevin Kisner told the Fore Play Podcast.
“Fax went down to the range, and it was interesting how he told me Scottie warmed up. Scottie basically only hit the irons that he thought he would have on 18, because we were going to continue to play 18 over and over again, which is interesting,” he said.
“He didn’t hit any four irons or three woods. He just basically hit short irons and drivers on the range, just preparing to play that one hole over and over again.”
The reason Scottie Scheffler missed the putt to extend the playoff against Viktor Hovland
Scheffler would have been the heavy favourite once the pair hit their approach shots.
It was a traditional matchplay moment. Hovland would never have conceded Scheffler’s putt if given the opportunity. And when the European managed to hole his effort, Scheffler’s putt suddenly felt missable.
While it was the game’s most dominant player since Tiger Woods stood over the putt, many would have had a strange feeling that Scheffler was going to fail to match him.
And Kisner helped explain why his putt was a lot tougher than many realise.
“When Scottie’s ball landed, I thought sick, it’s probably going to be over because he hit it to three feet. And then six minutes later, I’m like sick, it’s over, but Scottie didn’t win. It was kind of a weird thing to call,” he said.
“When Viktor made it, my brain already went to alright, what are we going to talk about on 18 again? We’ve got to come up with something to say. I think Scottie, it was just one of those situations where you’re like, I’ve got to make it, I’ve got to make it, and everybody hits it harder when they’ve got to make it. That’s not any good either. If I hit it too hard, it’s not going to go in either. It wasn’t the easiest side of the hole to be on. Downhill, left to right. Viktor’s ball barely hung in there, I think he thought he missed it.
“Just two tricky putts coming down the hill. Plus they spent all morning getting that green ready. I’m sure it was fast. Having that downhill putt, you’re not really sure. You hit the first green of a golf course, and you’ve maybe hit some practice putts, you’re still not really sure about the green speed. And most of the time if you’re not in a playoff the next morning, you’ve already got the rhythm, right? And if that would have been last night, they wouldn’t have been tricked by anything because they would have been in the moment. But this morning still feels like the first hole of the tournament.”
Had Scheffler been given that putt 20 times, it is likely that he would have holed it 19 times. However, pressure does strange things, even to the players who have won the majority of the biggest events in the game.
