Scottie Scheffler says the greens at Bay Hill are “already dead”.

Scheffler, 29, made a small climb up the leaderboard on day two of the Arnold Palmer Invitational. 

The American added a one-under 71 to add to his opening 70 and is currently 10 strokes behind surprise 36-hole pacesetter Daniel Berger. 

Scheffler got a tad frustrated on a few occasions on Friday, particularly with the state of the putting surfaces which players believe are going to get increasingly brown over the weekend. 

On one particular occasion, Scheffler believed he flagged his approach at the 15th only to watch his golf ball hit the surface hard and bounce into the back bunker and plug. 

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Scheffler was even filmed lobbing his golf ball into the water at the 18th after missing a 10-footer to salvage a par. “Was in the middle until it broke left!” he fumed to caddie Ted Scott.

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“They’re already dead,” Scheffler told the Associated Press of the greens. “I’m not sure how much deader they can get. Like 15 is completely dead.”

Explaining his anger at the last, Scheffler said: “You can always hit it softer. 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.”

Scheffler added: “It’s been like this before. Typically here, if you go late Friday, they’re pretty much already dead. It’s not anything unusual. It’s a good test. It’s hard. 

“There are certain holes that get a little silly because the run-ups are soft and the greens are so firm. But it’s like that every year. This year is actually less windy.

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“If we had crazy wind, they probably would have had to stop.”

Scottie Scheffler

Scottie Scheffler

Justin Thomas, who missed the cut, also told reporters in his post-round interview that in a way he was glad to be making an early exit. 

Thomas, who said his consecutive rounds of 79 left him feeling “humiliated” on his first start back on the PGA Tour in nearly six months, added: “There is zero chance that they are going to be alive Sunday.

“That is one good thing about now playing here this weekend because it is going to suck.”

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