Scottie Scheffler is but to file a top-ten end in his six begins at TPC Southwind. May this be the 12 months that adjustments?
The American’s opening spherical on the PGA St. Jude’s Championship suggests he’s heading in the right direction, with Scheffler making a powerful begin whereas Australians Cam Davis, Adam Scott, Min Woo Lee and Jason Day battle to make it to the Tour Championship and a shot on the $151m (AUD) prize pool.
Scheffler shot a four-under 66 to take a seat two photographs behind chief Chris Kirk heading into Saturday’s second spherical, beginning the break day with 4 birdies on the entrance 9.
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It was an all-round stable day for Scheffler, though there was one second that his frustration got here to the fore, slamming his membership into the bunker on the thirteenth gap, the place he recorded his solely bogey of the spherical.
“It was a reasonably simple shot,” Scheffler mentioned.
“I hit only a horrible shot. It was sort of a lack-of-focus kind of second. I felt like I did a superb job getting myself into place the place I might make what I assumed was going to be a simple par, after which I simply hit an terrible shot, value myself one there.”
David Howell mentioned in commentary for Sky Sports activities Golf that it was the “first time I’ve ever seen that” from the world primary.
“Woah, woah, you don’t see that fairly often,” he mentioned.
“It simply exhibits you his need and willpower to win each single week that he’s on the market,” added Andrew Coltart.
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As for the Australian contingent, Davis sits in a tie for forty fourth after taking pictures an even-par 70, beginning the day with a pair of bogeys and birdies earlier than operating into hassle with a double bogey on the 14th.
Davis recovered nicely although to shut out the spherical with two birdies on his closing 4 holes.
Each Lee and Scott additionally sit at even-par in a share of forty fourth alongside Davis, though it might have been far worse for Lee, who opened the day with a birdie solely to bogey his subsequent three holes whereas Scott had a mixture of bogeys and birdies throughout the board too.
Day fared the worst of the Australians on Friday, ending the day two-over and in a tie for sixty fourth after a shaky closing noticed him file three bogeys on his closing seven holes.
Solely the highest 50 gamers undergo to subsequent week’s BMW Championship.
Main the way in which after the opening spherical is Kirk, who supplied the spotlight of day after he aced the par-3 14th gap on his approach to grabbing a one-stroke buffer.
The 39-year-old American, in search of his seventh PGA triumph, fired a six-under par 64 at TPC Southwind in Memphis, Tennessee, within the FedEx Cup playoff opener.
Sharing second on 65 had been Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama, taking part in with out his common caddie and coach after a London restaurant theft, plus Canada’s Taylor Pendrith and France’s Matthieu Pavon.
On a scorching day, Kirk had probably the most scorching shot of all when he performed a 6-iron excessive draw from 205 yards at 14 that landed 10 ft proper of the flagstick, then bounced and rolled into the outlet.
“I used to be simply making an attempt to hit it left of the outlet and make a 3,” Kirk mentioned.
“Didn’t fairly come off the place I used to be wanting. I used to be like, ‘Oh my God.’ Simply making an attempt to hit it in the course of the inexperienced. I used to be simply swinging actually good and the ball sensed it, simply discovered it’s approach in the appropriate path.”
The outlet-in-one, the fourth of Kirk’s PGA profession, gave him a three-stroke lead however a closing bogey introduced him again close to the pack.
Kirk, the 2014 playoff runner-up, captured the PGA season-opening event of champions in Hawaii after profitable final 12 months’s Honda Traditional.
He sought “boring” however constant play and commenced nicely with birdies on a putt from simply over 11 ft on the par-4 second and simply past 18 ft on the par-5 third.
Kirk additionally birdied from simply inside 20 ft on the sixth and dropped his strategy inches from the outlet on the ninth for a tap-in birdie. A 17-foot birdie putt on the twelfth set the stage for the essential ace.
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“The objective is to belief your self and make it as boring as doable,” Kirk mentioned.
“That was my plan and I used to be doing it for the primary 13 holes. Very constant, regular, hitting stable photographs, making a number of putts right here and there — 14 was not boring golf.”
Matsuyama, the 2021 Masters champion, was robbed in London on a stopover on his approach to the US from the Paris Olympics, the place he took the bronze medal.
Whereas Matsuyama solely misplaced his pockets, his caddie, Shota Hiyato, and coach, Mikhito Kuromiya, misplaced their passports and visas and returned to Japan in hopes of getting new paperwork and returning to Matsuyama earlier than the playoffs finish in two weeks at East Lake in Atlanta.
“It was an unlucky state of affairs,” Matsuyama mentioned.
“Fortunately I solely misplaced my pockets… we’re making an attempt exhausting now to get their visas again in line.
“We’re pushing exhausting, wanting towards East Lake. Shota will make it, I believe, however my coach most likely gained’t.”
The theft has not thrown off Matsuyama, who says, “I’ve forgotten it fully” and notes he talks by telephone to his coach each night time.
“We didn’t even understand it occurred,” he mentioned.
“We had been simply having a pleasant dinner and Shota was the primary one — hey, the place’s my bag? In fact it was irritating, however we actually didn’t understand it occurred. It was simply sort of impulsively. We had already paid the test.”
Matsuyama’s caddie this week is Taiga Tabuchi, the common bagman for Japan’s Ryo Hisatsune.
“Taiga did a fantastic job in the present day, so we’ll simply see the way it goes,” mentioned Matsuyama.
“I’m taking part in nicely and that momentum has carried over. Now it’s simply whether or not or not the outcomes can go along with it.”
TOP CONTENDERS AFTER ROUND 1
1. Chris Kirk: -6
T-2. Taylor Pendrith: -5
T-2. Matthieu Pavon: -5
T-2. Hideki Matsuyama: -5
T-5. Justin Rose: -4
T-5. Ben Griffin: -4
T-5. Tommy Fleetwood: -4
T-5. Brendon Todd: -4
T-5. Denny McCarthy: -4
T-5. Scottie Scheffler: -4
T-5. Xander Schauffele: -4
T-12. Justin Thomas: -3
T-12. Peter Malnati: -3
T-12. Seamus Energy: -3
T-12. Nick Dunlap: -3
T-12. Sam Burns: -3
T-12. Robert MacIntyre: -3