Scottie Scheffler is the best golfer in the world. He’s also, inexplicably, winless in majors through the first half of 2026 — and the reason why is becoming one of the most compelling storylines in the sport. For Texas golf fans who have been watching the Fort Worth native dominate the Tour all season, the […]
Scottie Scheffler is the best golfer in the world. He’s also, inexplicably, winless in majors through the first half of 2026 — and the reason why is becoming one of the most compelling storylines in the sport. For Texas golf fans who have been watching the Fort Worth native dominate the Tour all season, the question keeps coming up: when does Scheffler finally close one out on a Sunday?
Runner-Up Four Times in Five Starts
Let that sink in. Over his last five events, Scottie Scheffler has finished runner-up in four of them — including The Masters and the 2026 PGA Championship at Aronimink. His ball-striking is as elite as anyone who has ever played this game. His course management is exceptional. His mental game is largely bulletproof. And yet the putter keeps costing him majors.
At the PGA Championship, Scheffler was in the thick of it through 36 holes — he even shared the first-round lead. Then came Friday, when he finished 124th of 156 players in strokes gained: putting, losing a stroke and a half to the field in a single round. Saturday was worse. By the time Aaron Rai was lifting the Wanamaker Trophy on Sunday, Scheffler was watching from a distance, another near-miss added to the 2026 ledger.
The Pattern Is Familiar
This isn’t a new story. At last year’s U.S. Open, Scheffler’s putting faltered in the same way — elite ball-striking undermined by inconsistency on the greens, a T-7 finish that felt like a missed opportunity. The 2026 major season has simply reprised that theme on a bigger stage, multiple times.
Here’s the thing: when Scheffler’s putter is even average, he’s unbeatable. He leads almost every Tour metric that matters — strokes gained: approach, GIR percentage, scrambling. At the CJ Cup Byron Nelson, he actually ranked eighth in putting and still nearly won the tournament. That version of Scheffler — the one where the flat stick cooperates — is the scariest player alive.
The Texas Connection
Scheffler grew up in the Dallas area, played college golf at the University of Texas, and still calls Texas home. For the Texas golf community, watching him compete at this level — and watching him come so close, so consistently — has been equal parts exhilarating and agonizing.
He’s not just a world No. 1 who happens to live in Texas. He’s a product of Texas golf — the junior programs, the university system, the competitive culture that this state breeds into every kid who picks up a club. His success at the Tour level reflects well on all of it, even when the majors slip away.
Is the Major Still Coming?
Almost certainly yes. Scheffler is 29 years old. He won the Masters in 2022 and 2024. He’s played in every major since turning pro and has contended in the majority of them. The putting woes are real, but they’re also the kind of thing that top players work on obsessively — and Scheffler is not the type to accept a weakness and move on.
There’s also this: runner-up finishes at majors aren’t just near-misses. They’re validation. They say you belong, you can compete, you do the important things right. Scheffler finishes second because he gets himself in position to win, which is the hardest part. The closing part will come.
What to Watch at the U.S. Open and The Open Championship
The 2026 calendar still has two more majors remaining — the U.S. Open and The Open Championship. If Scheffler arrives at either venue with a putter that’s cooperating even at a Tour-average level, history suggests he will be the most dangerous player in the field. Watch his strokes gained: putting in the first round. If that number is positive, it might be his week.
Texas golf is watching. And when Scheffler does finally win his next major, the celebration in this state is going to be something special.
