Scottie Scheffler's 2026 U.S. Open Therapy Session

The scene mostly played out in silence.

The breeze was whipping, and Scottie Scheffler’s pink Nike shirt looked like a wind sock, waves rippling across his back. His caddie, Ted Scott, knelt by his bag to stretch his legs. Scheffler’s coach, Randy Smith, stood to the side, studying his longtime pupil. There was a TrackMan behind Scheffler, and he occasionally paused his range session to crouch down and read the launch monitor’s numbers on his phone. Smith calmly shared a few suggestions, and then Scheffler would launch an iron shot into the sky. Everyone tried to act like this was business as usual.

But Scheffler was — and this is putting it gently — exasperated after his first round at Shinnecock, where he opened with a 2-over 72. He was trying to be chill, trying to keep it together, but he wasn’t hiding much. At one point, Smith put the club in Scheffler’s hands exactly the way he wanted the No. 1 player in the world to hold it, but Scheffler remained incredulous.

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Scheffler usually hits balls at the end of his rounds, mostly to cool down or to do a little maintenance on his grip or alignment. But this was not that. It wasn’t an argument. And it wasn’t about the career grand slam, or any of the pressure that comes with chasing it.

It was a therapy session.

Something about his shots did not look (or feel) right. Driver was a mess. Short game was below his usual standard. He had scraped it around on Thursday, keeping himself in contention. But when you are a golf perfectionist, that kind of day can still drive you mad.

It was, in many respects, a mirror of what happened a year ago in the U.S. Open at Oakmont, when Smith and Scheffler had an animated (even heated) discussion on the range after his second round. He sorted through some things, and a few weeks later won the Open Championship. Stay tuned. He’s been through slumps before.

It’s probably hyperbolic to say there is something wrong with him.

But it would also be a lie to say all is well. At least at the moment.