Bryson DeChambeau might be the one disappointed entering Moving Day at Royal Birkdale. After all, he received a controversial two-stroke penalty on the par-4 5th of the second round for improving the area of his intended swing. But Brad Faxon believes Scottie Scheffler should be the one disappointed. The NBC analyst feels Scheffler has not performed well so far in The Open, blaming his pairing with DeChambeau and Tyrrell Hatton, though Scheffler’s back-to-back rounds of 68 tell a different story. 

“Pairings make a big difference,” Faxon said. “So many things can influence how a player plays… Scottie had a tough pairing with Bryson DeChambeau and Tyrrell Hatton, two guys that are difficult to play with. It’s almost like a two-stroke penalty.”

But a study published by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) contradicts his belief. According to the September 2007 study, there is no meaningful evidence that the skill or performance of nearby peers influences the performance of elite professional golfers. Considering Scheffler is the World No. 1, it’s fair to say he belongs in that elite category. Not to mention, with the amount of experience he has, Scheffler should be even less susceptible to outside influence.

🤔 golf trivia

This Should Be an Easy One, Right?

01/10

How Many Shots Was Bryson DeChambeau Penalized in R2 of the Open?

2134

Oops, bogey!

But don’t worry, there’s still the back 9 to prove your high golf IQ

PLAY GOLF TRIVIA

And let’s not forget that Scheffler entered Thursday’s round after missing the cut at the Scottish Open the previous week. So, if his performance doesn’t live up to his World No. 1 billing, the blame can’t simply be on his playing partners. That said, while grouped with DeChambeau and Hatton over the first two rounds, Scheffler carded four birdies and two bogeys in Round 1.

In Round 2, he played a mistake-free round with two birdies. That form seems to have carried over into Moving Day, even after being paired with Francesco Molinari. Scheffler picked up one birdie on the front nine without dropping a shot before making the turn. But what do the players themselves think about the influence of playing partners? 

According to an ESPN report, World No. 2 Rory McIlroy believes playing partners can influence performance during tournaments—for better or worse. Reflecting on the 2015 Deutsche Bank Championship, he said that he and Chris Kirk fed off each other’s momentum as they both fired final-round 65s, suggesting that strong play can be contagious.

But on the other hand, McIlroy recalled how Jordan Spieth‘s deliberate pace during the 2016 Masters disrupted his rhythm, while Angel Cabrera’s quick tempo in the final round of the 2011 Masters caused him to speed up his own routine. 

Coming back to Scheffler, he currently sits tied for 11th, six shots behind tournament leader Ryan Fox. Meanwhile, DeChambeau, who paired with Sam Burns on Moving Day, is tied for seventh alongside Ludvig Aberg after carding a 1-under 69 in Round 3 with 3 birdies and 2 bogeys.