Rory McIlroy has advised Scottie Scheffler to change his putter to a "mallet" from a blade to try and fix his issues on the green - but he's secretly glad the world No 1 is going through some problems.
There's been no better ball striker on the PGA Tour than Scheffler over the past 12 months.
He's far ahead at the top of the PGA Tour rankings and hasn't finished outside the top-17 at any of his previous eight tournaments.
That kind of consistency makes Scheffler one of the most dangerous opponents for anyone on tour hoping to clinch a trophy.
Rory McIlroy has gone through his own putting woes
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But the only reason Scheffler hasn't won more in the past few months is due to his poor putting record.
He ranked dead last in SG/ putting at the Genesis Invitational among the 51 players to make it through to the weekend.
Scheffler cut a frustrated figure from the get-go whenever he pulled his putter out the bag and never looked confident standing over his ball.
At the par-five 11th hole on Thursday, Scheffler three-putted before launching his ball into the woods out of frustration.
His putting woes continued to the very last hole on Sunday when he badly misjudged a 10-foot putt that left him a tricky par save to end his week.
McIlroy, who has gone through his own putting afflictions in the past, was interviewed shortly after Scheffler's round ended.
And the Northern Irishman's main piece of advice to his Ryder Cup rival would be to change up to a more game improvement-style putter.
“I've certainly been through my fair share of putting woes over the years, and I finally feel like I've broken through and become a pretty consistent putter,” McIlroy said.
“For me, going to a mallet was a big change.
Rory McIlroy uses a Taylormade Spider putter
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“I really persisted with the blade putter for a long time, but I just feel like your stroke has to be so perfect to start the ball on line, where the mallet just gives you a little bit more margin for error.
“So, I’d love to see Scottie try a mallet.
“But selfishly for me, Scottie does everything else so well that he’s given the rest of us a chance.”
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Scottie Scheffler uses a blade putter
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Scheffler was still able to finish ahead of McIlroy, who was left scrambling all weekend after a disappointing opening round of 74.
He had an indifferent final round on Sunday which started with back-to-back birdies on the first two holes.
But any momentum he did have was lost swiftly on holes four and five with consecutive bogeys.
