A dismal putting performance and a head-scratching bogey at the last put Scottie Scheffler much closer to a missed cut than the lead at the Charles Schwab Challenge.
Scheffler shot 1-over 71 Friday and, at 1 under for the tournament, finished one clear of the cut line and 10 back of front-runners Ben Griffin (63) and Matti Schmid (63) at Colonial Country Club.
Scheffler’s day concluded with a missed 11-foot birdie putt on his 17th hole and a bogey from 75 yards out at his last. The finish encapsulated a frustrating second round for the world No. 1.
Scheffler, vying for his third win in as many starts, began the tournament eagle-birdie Thursday but played 1 over the rest of the way. He started Round 2 on the back nine and made two bogeys and no birdies over his inward half. Precariously positioned near the cut line, Scheffler birdied the par-5 first and the sixth, before failing to take advantage of a great tee shot on the par-3 eighth and then the shocker at the ninth.
Scheffler pounded his drive 344 yards on the narrow par 4 and had only 75 yards to a back pin location. He one-hopped his wedge over the green and then chipped 40 feet past the hole. Scheffler two-putted from there, rolling in a 2-footer for bogey.
That, unfortunately for Scheffler, was one of his longer makes of the round. He converted only 35 feet, 6 inches of putts and made only two putts longer than 3 feet — his longest a 6-footer for birdie at No. 6.
Scheffler lost more than 2.5 strokes to the field Friday on the greens. He also appeared to have some discomfort in his back after a pulled tee shot at the second.
Coming off wins at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson and the PGA Championship in his last two starts, Scheffler is bidding to become the first player since Dustin Johnson in 2017 to win three consecutive Tour starts.
