WATCH: Scottie Scheffler shows a big change in his putting during the Hero World Challenge
For the last year, beginning with the 2023 Hero World Challenge, Scottie Scheffler has dominated golf. He got a new putter around that time and turned that area of his game into a strength rather than a weakness. Now, one year later and back at the same tournament, Scheffler is making another big change.
At the tournament and ahead of the opening round, Scheffler debuted an all-new grip. The World No. 1 was seen sporting the claw grip, an alternative putting style that is used by several pro golfers.
With this grip, Scheffler loosely holds his right hand below the left hand on the putter. Instead of firmly holding it like his other hand does on a putt or any other swing, he places his fingers on the shaft and uses them to stabilize his putt. Check it out below:
Scheffler's putts with this new grip worked. In the video captured, the World No. 1 and defending champion nailed several shots from a variety of ranges all the while utilizing a brand-new grip.
He hasn't played since the Tour Championship and then the Presidents Cup, but this is the first time he has been seen using this alternate grip. The claw grip is designed to remove the trail hand from the stroke.
Despite Scheffler's improved putting and overall dominant performance during the 2024 season, he's not satisfied and wants to continue getting better at that part of the game.
Justin Rose, Tommy Fleetwood, Sergio Garcia and Webb Simpson have helped popularize this grip, and now Scheffler has joined them. Last year, he jumped from 162nd in Strokes Gained: Putting to 77th and could be aiming for another bump in 2025.
Scottie Scheffler has hilarious answer about Ryder Cup money
The talk of golf right now is largely centered around Ryder Cup money. With the USA set to pay golfers $400,000 to play in the tournament, everyone has been asked about it.
Scottie Scheffler knows that. So does Tiger Woods. So when Scheffler was asked what he and Hero World Challenge host talked about recently, he joked via NBC Sports:
“I think most of the time we just talk about money and how the purses need to be bigger. Today we really grinded on the Ryder Cup and how it’s just such BS that we’ve never gotten paid. Tiger was really frustrated, he feels like he hasn’t made enough money in his career.”
Giving a serious answer, Scheffler said that every American would happily pay to play the Ryder Cup if that's what it came down to:
“I think it’s a little bit silly for a tournament that makes hundreds of millions of dollars to ask for the players to pay as well, but I think we all would. I definitely would.”
Despite some objections, it seems that the PGA of America is going to go ahead with the proposed payments for players beginning in 2025.