It seems even after six months, Scottie Scheffler still has problems with his driver. While his driver's not failed the conformity test this time, it has resulted in a poor performance by Scheffler's standards, even taking away the chance to win in Albany for a third-consecutive tournament win.

At the 2025 Hero World Challenge in Albany, Bahamas, world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler arrived as a two-time defending champion. Scheffler traded in his long-trusted driver, TaylorMade Qi10, for a TaylorMade Qi4D, a model newly added to the USGA’s conforming list. The approval made it immediately legal in competition, even before retail release. However, it didn't go according to plan.

On Thursday, Scheffler opened with a 66, slotting into a tie for the lead. Many of his tee shots found fairway, a promising start that suggested the new driver was delivering usable distance and acceptable accuracy. Through the first two rounds, he remained within range of the leaders, his overall game steady enough to justify the switch.

However, as the field tightened over the weekend, struggles began to show. On the 16th hole of the second round, a misaligned tee shot found rough rather than fairway, leading to a penalty drop and a double bogey, a swing that dropped him from a share of the lead to a tie for sixth at 9-under. Late tee mistakes turned a promising start into a two-shot gap that ultimately cost him a historic third straight Hero title.

By Sunday, eventual winner Hideki Matsuyama and runner-up Alex Noren each fired 64 to force a playoff. As for Scottie Scheffler, he recorded a 4-under 68 in the final round and finished tied for fourth at 20-under, two strokes behind the leaders.

Despite flashes of brilliance, including an eagle over a par-5, inconsistent tee shots and poorly timed misjudgments slowly eroded his cushion. But what caused a sudden drop to the performance?

Well, in previous seasons, Scheffler has been willing to experiment at the Hero, including a brief driver change in 2023, using the week as a low-stakes place to test tweaks to his setup. This year, the switch to Qi4D marked perhaps his biggest gear change, following a successful run behind the earlier Qi10 driver that powered many of his 2024–2025 victories.

And while it hasn't brought positive results this time, Scheffler isn't walking away emptyhanded.

Scottie Scheffler Explained His Decision to Use the Driver

"I would say testing things out in competition is a good way of kind of seeing where you're at. You can simulate competition at home, but coming out here and playing stroke play is always a bit different over the course of four days. I find this week to be pretty valuable," Scheffler revealed before this tournament.

But why kick things off with this particular driver now, with a title on the line? Well, Scheffler had an answer for that as well.

"So last year I had a little bit of trouble getting into the Qi35, and I feel like we learned a lot throughout that process of what I like to see in a driver, the way it needs to perform for me specifically."

While it hasn't exactly gone to play, Scheffler's going into 2026 with a better idea of his equipment. Do you think he'll be able to put it to good use? Let us know in the comments.

Written by

Aditi Singh

Edited by

Siddharth Shirwadkar