Scottie Scheffler said Wednesday that he used last year’s Hero World Challenge as a catalyst to his 2024 season. That worked well as he won in the Bahamas and then won eight times, including the Olympic gold medal, this year.
In his continuous quest to get better, the world No. 1 implemented a claw grip in the opening round of his Hero title defense.
Scheffler used both a conventional method and a claw grip — routinely on putts inside 10 feet — in shooting 5-under 67 Thursday at Albany GC. He is three off the 18-hole lead, held by Cameron Young.
Scheffler ranked first on the PGA Tour this past season in strokes gained: total, tee to green and approach to green. He was second on Tour in strokes gained: off the tee. On the other hand, he was 77th in strokes gained: putting.
On Thursday, Scheffler made 54 feet of putts and was 10th among the field of 20 in strokes gained: putting, losing 0.058 shots.
