NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. — Statistical proof that Scottie Scheffler is likely to rebound from a poor start isn’t necessary, but we can provide some anyway.
Starting on the 10th tee early Friday morning at Aronimink Golf Club, Scheffler began his second round of the PGA Championship with three bogeys in the first four holes and made the turn in two-over 37. It was the fifth time Scheffler had gone at least two over par over his first nine holes to start a round in the PGA. In the previous four, he came back to shoot under par on the second nine.
That would be called a trend. Wonder of wonders, that trend continued.
Scheffler, the defending champion and World No. 1, once again stiffened his spine on a difficult day of scoring created by gusting winds and glaringly complicated pin positions. An inward 34 added up to a one-over 71, the type of score that might scuttle a title run, but not this week. Not at this PGA Championship.
At one-under 139, Scheffler, who held a share of the first-round lead, was very much still in the picture as play continued in the afternoon. He trailed clubhouse leader Alex Smalley by only three strokes with half the field sill on the golf course. Granted, this leaderboard is conspicuously crowded, but does anyone really want to see Scheffler mingling with the upper tier when he leads the PGA Tour in third- and fourth-round scoring average?
This is the guy who spotted Rory McIlroy 12 shots after 36 holes at the Masters and lost by one. Same guy who at Pebble Beach scared the field with a closing 63 to erase an eight-stroke deficit.
So what if he began the day chopping it up.
“I feel like if it’s hard for me out there, then it’s going to be hard for other players,” said the 29-year-old Texan, employing irrefutable logic. “It was pretty obvious to tell this morning the conditions were pretty tough, and so I just kept trying to remind myself of that. I think also when the pins get this hard, you really have to choose your moments when you’re going to try and maybe get after a pin or try and play a little bit smarter.”
For as well as he strikes the ball, Scheffler also is one of the game’s more intelligent players. It’s difficult to think of a time when he does not play smart.
Friday’s round was smart. And it was effective. For the first time in months, he does not have to scratch and claw his way back into a tournament. Even if he had to do a bit of that in the second round, which he started on the 10th hole.
“I hit it OK to start. It was just really, really tough,” he said. “It was blowing really hard, and it was quite cold as well. So the golf ball wasn’t really traveling anywhere. It was just a really challenging morning overall. After the first, I think I was maybe three-over through four; the par I made on 14 was extremely good. That was one of the craziest pins that I’ve seen … your ball wasn’t going to roll off like 50 yards away, but that was like they put the pin on like this microphone, like it was just like a high point. … And then hit the really nice shot into 17 to kind of get things going.
“Was able to make a few birdies on the back nine I wish I could have taken a couple more shots there going to the easier side of the course,” he added. “As the conditions were getting better, I wish I could have gotten a few more there. But overall, I did some good stuff.”
That’s the thing about Scheffler—he’ll usually find a way, eventually, to do some good stuff.
Again, we don’t need stats to know this is accurate.
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This article was originally published on golfdigest.com
