So Scottie Scheffler is human after all! That was the general feeling at TPC Scottsdale after the World No.1 produced a rare stinker of a round at the WM Phoenix Open.
The huge favorite heading into an event where he won back-to-back titles in 2022 and 2023, Scheffler laid an uncharacteristic egg with some bad errors we're just not accustomed to seeing from the model of sustained excellence.
The fact only he signed for a two-over round of 73, yet makes headlines as if it was 83, speaks volumes for just how stratospheric a level he usually operates at, but it was more about the body language and visible frustration over his mistakes which caught the eye.
Shaking his wedge in rage after a duffed chip and skipping the media after a round containing five bogeys and a double are both sights we just don't associate with usually the coolest cucumber on the PGA Tour.
Just a week after inheriting the longest active streak of made cuts following Xander Schauffele's early exit at Torrey Pines, Scheffler now faces a tough task to make the weekend in Scottsdale for the 64th straight event.
The viral clip on social media sees Scheffler almost duffing a chip onto the 18th green, than almost snapping a wedge across his legs as the ball rolls back down towards his feet.
Cue the 'one of us' lines emerging - as even the best golfer on the planet shows the type of maddening frustration that only this sport can elicit. Sooner or later, golf will get you.
But it's taken some time to get to Scheffler, who has been a golfing robot of late with Thursday's 73 ending a run of 33 rounds of par or better dating back to last June's Travelers Championship.
Scheffler's also been a Strokes Gained machine pumping out numbers only Tiger Woods could live with, but this effort was his worst for over two years - since the 2023 Tour Championship.
The 29-year-old also lost ground on the field with his iron play, which is almost unheard of, while around the greens he lost over two shots to the pack as his usually gifted hands let him down.
Such sloppy play obviously rattled Scheffler as he went bogey-bogey-doubley bogey around the turn in his round - with that run of three holes equalling the total dropped shots he had during his American Express victory a couple of weeks ago.
That win in his 2026 debut maintained his astonishing run of form and gave him a seventh win in 14 events, a 50% strike rate that just shouldn't be possible in the modern game.
The run includes two Major victories and a lowest finish of T8, and that consistency meant that nobody saw this round coming - not so much the score but in Scheffler's irritated demeanour.
Declining to speak with the media Scheffler instead headed straight to the practice ground as his target now shifts to making the weekend and trying to preserve his incredible run of 16 straight top-10 finishes.
If there's one player you couldn't rule out making a roaring comeback though it's Scheffler. He'll be must-watch viewing on Friday.
