BROOKLINE, Mass. — Few may understand the virtue of patience as well as Scottie Scheffler.
Scheffler played his first 69 PGA Tour events before he broke through for a victory. Yeah, there were some close calls, 19 finishes within the top 10 and a few runner-ups. But a trophy? He had to wait a bit to hoist one.
We all know what happened next.
So that’s the macro outlook on things — that patience on Tour could lead to, say, four victories, a Masters championship and a world No. 1 ranking all within one season. The micro outlook, in this instance, may imply that patience within a singular round of golf can lead to good things as well.
Scheffler was proof of that on Friday, too.
Despite a few early, front-nine hiccups and missed birdie chances, Scheffler shot 4-under par through his final six holes in round two of the U.S. Open at The Country Club, and finished with a 3-under 67. He entered the clubhouse co-leading the tournament at -3, and is in a six-way tie for eighth through 36 holes. He trails leaders Collin Morikawa and Joel Dahmen (-5) by two strokes, while five golfers (including Rory McIlory and Jon Rahm) are tied for second at -4.
“I just stayed really patient,” Scheffler said. “I knew I was swinging at it well. Really, I was 2-over through six and hadn’t really made a bad swing yet. But that’s just U.S. Open — it’s just hard.”
Scheffler carded back-to-back bogeys on holes five and six, which pushed him to 2-over par. The first included a chunked chip shot on five which went just eight feet down the fairway (”I just caught it a little fat, I guess,” Scheffler would later say in between a few chuckles) and the second included a missed 10-foot par putt on six.
The vexing front nine included those two bogeys and a handful of would-be birdie putts which fell just an inch short, an inch too-far-left or an inch too-far-right.
But angst, Scheffler has found, can be used for good. Especially if you remain patient.
“I think using frustration for good versus getting angry is really helpful,” Scheffler explained. “When I can use that frustration instead of getting angry and banging my club, and now more so I’m trying to use that anger to react towards that next shot and bring that focus up a little bit.”
Scheffler’s back-nine sprint was highlighted by an eagle on the 14th hole. His tee shot landed in the fairway, but his second shot clipped a tree and fell in the rough, 55 yards out from the hole. He chipped in for eagle though, and dropped below par for the first time all week.
“Had a good lie,” Scheffler said. “And [I] hit a good chip and it went in.”
A 184-yard approach shot on 13 gifted Scheffler a 6-foot-11 birdie putt. He sank a 10-foot-2 birdie putt on the 16th hole, and had a chance for another on 18. His 15-foot-11 inch birdie putt attempt rolled two inches to the right of the pin. He settled for par, and secured a spot at a major weekend for the first time since his win at Augusta National in April.
He ended Round 2 ranked first in strokes gained approaching the tee, tied for 13th in strokes gained off the tee and tied for seventh in fairways hit (10 of 14).
Scheffler missed the cut at last month’s PGA Championship at Southern Hills in Tulsa, Okla., but said Tuesday that he finds that failure is an opportune time to learn. Instead of making hasty judgments on the state of his game, he considered the mental adjustments he’d need to make on certain holes, certain shots.
That way when he’d tee it up again, he’d be prepared.
Sometimes, you’ve just got to wait.
