Despite ace, putting woes leave Scottie Scheffler one stroke out of playoff at Charles Schwab Challenge

Though it was a frustrating week for Scottie Scheffler on the putting surface, he set off fireworks in the tee box. 

With his victory chances dwindling down in the final round of the Charles Schwab Challenge, the world No. 1 aced Colonial’s par-3 8th with a 7-iron from 189 yards out. 

“Pretty much the exact same shot I hit there yesterday,” said Scheffler, who shot 67 to finish T-3 at 7 under, one stroke back from being in a playoff. “Tee box was a little further up, and there was a little bit more wind in our face, so it kind of set up nicely. Yeah, it landed and went in. That was definitely a lot of fun.”

Full-field scores from Charles Schwab Challenge

It was Scheffler’s second hole-in-one on Tour. The first also came in the Dallas area — where Scheffler grew up — at the 2014 AT&T Byron Nelson, when Scheffler made his Tour debut as a high school senior. Recently, Scheffler carded an ace during this year’s Masters Par 3 contest, though, some people may not count that one. 

“I’m going to count it for myself,” he said. I feel like that’s fair at Augusta.”

His hole-in-one Sunday at Colonial got him within striking distance of the lead and propelled him to a top-3 finish. But ultimately, his flatstick cost him. 

Scheffler lost 4.565 strokes with his putter this week, ranking 71st in the field. This season, Scheffler is first on Tour in Strokes Gained: Total (2.490) but is 92nd in SG: Putting (.037). 

“Played solid golf again today,” he said. “Hit it really nice. Seems like the story the last couple days, putts just weren’t falling. 

“I made a few today, but overall I probably lost a few strokes on the greens, which is frustrating. For a weekend where I really struggled with the putter, to give myself still a chance to win was nice.”

The ace, however, may serve as a consolation after his Tour-leading 11th top-10 of the season, which will make him No. 1 on this season’s money list. 

That should be music to Scheffler’s ears, because tonight, drinks are on him.