Tiger Woods joined the NBC broadcast booth during the final round of the Hero World Challenge, discussing a myriad of topics while especially awestruck at Scottie Scheffler's new putting grip.
“What is that thing?” the 48-year-old said jokingly to Dan Hicks and Smylie Kaufman.
Scheffler, who went on to win the 20-man tournament by six strokes, unveiled a new claw-style putting grip this week on shorter putts.
The world No. 1 had one of the all-time great years in golf, claiming seven PGA Tour titles including the Masters. He ranked first on Tour in strokes-gained total, tee to green and approach; however he was 77th in strokes-gained putting.
Putting has been the biggest weakness of his game. In 2023, Scheffler gained 2.61 strokes with his ball-striking, which was the second-best figure in the ShotLink era (since 2004) behind Woods's 2.98 in 2006. Scheffler, though, was 162nd on Tour in Strokes Gained: Putting amid a season that he won twice.
So, after the 2023 Tour Championship, Scheffler linked up with Phil Kenyon, one of the world's best putting instructors.
Scheffler was much improved with the flatstick in 2024—yet he still sees room for improvement in 2025.
“I felt like (the claw grip) was something that we had looked at last year when Phil and I first started working together,” Scheffler said Wednesday ahead of the Hero, “but it was really our first time working together and it’s something that’s different than what I’ve done in the past.”
Hicks said he believes Scheffler's new putting style is here to stay. Woods, meanwhile, said however Scheffler chooses to putt, 2025 should be another historic year for the 28-year-old Texan.
“(Scheffler) can do it either way,” Woods said. “He's got an amazing feel.
“I mean, you see that around the short game and his trajectory control into the greens. If he has consistent weeks or consistent times on the greens, he's gonna finish the top 10 every week and then he's gonna pick off a lot."
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Tiger Woods Had a Candid Response To Scottie Scheffler's New Putting Grip.
