WATCH: Scottie Scheffler shows his class as he escapes the bunker with a world class shot
World number one Scottie Scheffler had his "bunker dosis" at The Open Championship on Friday. With the high quality he has, he got out of the hazard with a single stroke, giving a master class on how to execute this type of shot.
The bunkers at the Royal Liverpool Golf Club course have been real headaches for most players at The Open Championship. Scottie Scheffler is no exception, but there is no doubt that he currently is in incomparably good shape.
Pressure brings out prowess.
The world number one has it in abundance. pic.twitter.com/3E630NJHvZ
The play occurred on the 18th hole (par 5, 583 yards). Scottie Scheffler's second shot ended up in one of the sand pots there, less than a foot from the extremely steep front slope.
In a shot that has been repeated throughout the tournament with several players, Scheffler opted for one of his wedges to look for a shot that went up virtually horizontal.
The execution was perfect. Throughout the video, you can see the ball hit by Scheffler emerging from a cloud of sand out of the hole. It was such a well-executed shot that the ball not only went out but rolled off the green and by less than a foot, missed the hole. It was a sensational birdie for the American.
Scottie Scheffler at The Open Championship
Scottie Scheffler has not been able to assert his status as world number one and main favorite in The Open Championship so far. His first two rounds have been uneven: good in the first and discreet in the second.
In the first round, Scheffler finished with -1, after four birdies and three bogeys. With this score, he finished in T19, as part of the chasing pack of the leaders.
This Friday, however, he was much less fortunate. Only two birdies (including the sensational 18th hole) against six bogeys made him finish his first 36 holes with +4 and make the cut by only one stroke.
Scheffler will start Saturday at T61, 14 strokes behind the leader. He will have to improve his game a lot to get back among the serious contenders for the title.
This is only Scheffler's third appearance at The Open Championship. Friday's four-over 75 is the worst round of any one he has played at the British Open so far.
In fact, this is Scheffler's worst round since April. He hadn't played a round of 75 strokes or better since the second day at The Masters. In other words, Scheffler had played 35 rounds under 75, including 23 under 70.
To find a worse round than Friday's for Scheffler on the PGA Tour, you have to go back to March 2022. It was The PLAYERS Championship and Scottie scored 76 strokes on the second day. He made the cut, however, and finished T55.