Talent draws scrutiny, and Scottie Scheffler is no exception. The double Masters winner tied 24th at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, his worst finish since January on the PGA Tour, after gaining only 44th in approaches, the lowest for him in a 72-hole event in four years. And while Scheffler downplayed any problems before TPC Sawgrass, analyst Brandel Chamblee seems unimpressed.
“I am a little worried about him. By his standards, he has missed an inordinate number of shots to the right, hence the fall off in his iron game as he currently ranks 80th in Strokes Gained: Approach. I don’t even recognize this golf swing from Scottie Scheffler. It’s a foot and a half shorter than it was last year, and the face is wide open,” Golf Channel analyst Brandel Chamblee said in a recent Q&A with GolfWRX ahead of the Masters.
The world’s No. 1 started showing some weak games from the start of the 2026 season, and the numbers are hard to ignore. Scheffler currently ranks 80th on the PGA Tour in Strokes Gained: Approach. For context, he ranked first in that category for the last three seasons.
In approaches from > 100 yards, Scheffler has fallen from 1st to 119th. Similarly, from beyond 200 yards, he’s gone from 6th to 116th. Last year, he found the right rough less than any player on Tour. This year, he ranks 79th in that same category.
Clearly, winning once on the PGA Tour this season and two top-four finishes haven’t been able to make up for the dim moments.
At the WM Phoenix Open, Scheffler shot a first-round 73. It was the first time since 2021 that a playing partner had beaten him by 10 or more strokes in a single round. The entire game highlighted a very concerning pattern that day. Scheffler tugged tee shots, botched chips, made a birdie, and followed it up with a bogey. For a player whose greatest asset had always been avoiding the big number, it was a strange thing to watch.
Then, during The Players Championship, concerns around Scottie Scheffler’s ball striking became even more worrisome. Through two rounds, he was 66th in strokes gained off the tee, which was a drastic fall for someone who had never placed lower than second in this metric in the last four years. His final birdie secured him a score of 73, leaving him one stroke under par, thus making the cut for his 70th consecutive time on the Tour.
Scheffler himself admitted after his opening round at The Players that his driving issue came down to a lack of trust in where the clubhead was on the downswing.
Scheffler had planned to play Houston the following week to work through it before Augusta, but he withdrew from it for the birth of his second child. The next time he’s on the ground, he will be competing at Augusta National. And while Scheffler’s game has been concerning, Chamblee is careful not to overstate the concern. He still believes there’s a way for Scheffler to come back.
What Comes Next For Scottie Scheffler at the Masters 2026?
As Chamblee pointed out, this might just be a bump in the road for Scheffler because there is history to support that view. In 2025, Scheffler shot a 76 in the third round of the Genesis Invitational at Torrey Pines. He still finished T3. Even in the middle of this stretch, he is one of the best players in the world.
Still and all, Scheffler has not been shy about his frustration. When asked recently whether he gets rattled when things go wrong, he was honest about it.
“I’ve literally spent my life trying to become good at this game. When things don’t go as planned, I think it’s healthy to have a level of frustration with that.”
Augusta National may also be the right place for him to find his momentum again. Scheffler knows the corner of that game and has good course management. The question heading into Thursday is simple. Is this the week the swing comes back right when it matters the most? If it does, the rest of the field will know about it quickly.
