Scottie Scheffler’s dominance hides one issue he still must control

Earlier this month, Scheffler finished tied for fourth at the Hero World Challenge. His closing 68 left him two shots behind the eventual winner, Hideki Matsuyama.

On paper, a share of fourth is a solid result, especially when you consider it extended his streak to 16 straight top-eight finishes. But there were clear signs during that event that something wasn’t quite right.

Scheffler didn’t hide his frustration during the week. In round three, despite carding a seven-under 65, he let his anger show on several occasions.

He was caught on camera swearing after missed putts and poor lies in fairways late in his round. It wasn’t an isolated incident either; similar issues had shown up earlier in the season, particularly at The Genesis Scottish Open and the Tour Championship.

Much of his frustration seems to stem from misreading putts. At times, he struggles to accept mistakes or bad breaks – moments where things don’t go as expected.

Scheffler’s game has always been strongest when he keeps a level head and doesn’t get too worked up over mistakes. When frustration takes over, there’s a noticeable dip in his performance compared to when he stays composed.

Brad Dalke’s remarks highlight an area Scheffler still needs to watch

Brad Dalke, who faced Scheffler in junior golf, recently spoke about how different his demeanour was back then compared to now.

He said: “That’s one thing that I don’t think the fans know about him, general golf fans. During the tournaments he has such a good demeanor now that he almost seems boring in a way just because, for the most part, he acts very good out there and just keeps going on with his mission.

“But a lot of people don’t realize, he used to have a terrible attitude in junior golf. Awful. And he used to be really, really bad. It hindered him a lot. It would make him fall apart and play very badly. He might start a round pretty well and have one bad hole and all of a sudden, he falls apart.

“And that’s the biggest key, because he’s always had the talent, but I think him finding a way to handle his emotions a lot better and really just stay a lot more even keel throughout the round – which I think Ted does a great job on helping him with that too – but I think that’s really what made him go from a really good player to making Tiger-esque run.”

Scheffler has clearly worked hard on keeping his emotions in check since turning pro.

If Scheffler wants to stay at the top of the game for years to come, keeping his cool will be essential.