Why Scottie Scheffler Uncharacteristically Threw Ball in Water at Arnold Palmer Invitational

Just two rounds in, the putting surfaces at Bay Hill resembled a U.S. Open, and Scheffler struggled to make a move up the leaderboard.

Scottie Scheffler let his frustrations brew Friday at Bay Hill. | Reinhold Matay-Imagn Images

It was an uncharacteristic moment for Scottie Scheffler. 

For someone who is often very stoic, the world No. 1 had just missed a 10-foot par putt on his final hole of the second round at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. So, after tapping in for bogey, he picked his ball out of the cup and chucked it in the water adjacent to the green in frustration.  

“Was in the middle until it broke left,” Scheffler was caught saying angrily to his caddie, Ted Scott. 

That capped a second-round one under 71, leaving him three under overall, nine strokes back of the 36-hole lead. 

“You can always hit it softer,” Scheffler told the Associated Press of his putt on the last hole. “I was surprised the ball picked up speed as it was rolling. There’s no friction. When the ball starts rolling, you’re at the mercy of the wind and the bumps.”

Scottie Scheffler tosses his ball into the water and had a few choice words after a bogey on 18.

He is currently 3-under, 10 shots off the lead. pic.twitter.com/zDkCqoO1dW

— Thomas Cook (@ThomasCookTV) March 6, 2026

It wasn’t just that bogey that set the 29-year-old over the edge, though. The conditions of the greens prevented him from making the charge up the leaderboard he craved. 

Another example came on the par-4 15th. The four-time major champion’s shot from the greenside bunker bounced on the green and proceeded to roll 30 feet off the putting surface. However, he would impressively chip in for par. 

“[The greens are] already dead. I’m not sure how much deader they can get. Like 15 is completely dead,” Scheffler said. “When it hit the green, I thought I hit it to three feet. And then it bounced crazy forward. I don’t know how that happened.”

And Scheffler isn’t alone in that sentiment. 

“It felt like Sunday afternoon greens, but it’s only Friday,” Harris English said after shooting 72. “I might have fixed three ball marks today because you can’t find them. It’s the U.S. Open in spring.”

Added Collin Morikawa: “They’re getting brown and they’re going to be very, very brown—if not purple—by Sunday, and that’s just part of this week.”

Perhaps, that will yield a few more ball chucks or club heaves this weekend at Bay Hill. 

---