After Scottie Scheffler roared out of the gates with three straight birdies, you had a feeling that his name would sit atop the leaderboard by day’s end.
That indeed proved to be the case. Scheffler went on a heater on the front nine, draining seven birdies to make the turn with a 7-under 29. But he cooled off a little on the back side, making only one birdie on the 14th to ultimately sign for an 8-under 64.
Despite that, Scheffler leads the Hero World Challenge by two at the midway point—a pretty impressive accomplishment, considering he made a significant change this week. Scheffler has a new putting grip, opting to use the claw from inside 15 feet. He believes it has worked well so far, noting to Rex Hoggard of the Golf Channel that he feels “comfortable” with it through 36 holes. Scheffler added that he has started each putt on his intended line, and for anyone who plays, that is pretty much all you can ask for.
Regarding the rest of his game, Scheffler continues to decimate every course he plays from tee to green. He ranked first among the 20-man field in strokes gained approach, which explains why he went so low right from the get-go. His wedge play is simply otherworldly, and he can hit any shot required.
“I was hitting it close to the hole and I was knocking in the putts, so I’m not going to really think too much about what I’m doing out there,” Scheffler assessed.
“I’m just going to try to continue to do it as best as I can.”
He’s already the best player in the world, so when he plays like he did on Friday, he is unstoppable—like Tiger Woods in the early 2000s. But Scheffler does not make any egregious errors either. Sure, everyone has their mishits, pushes, or pulls—Scheffler does too. But the reigning Masters champion never seems to veer too wayward off the tee or well away from the greens. When he does not make birdies, he is usually tapping in for par, something any golfer will take.
This mistake-free mantra is a massive reason why Scheffler has had so much success. This past season, he ranked second on the PGA Tour in bogey avoidance, trailing only Xander Schauffele. No wonder why these two stars racked up so many wins.
Scheffler is also the defending champion at this week’s Hero World Challenge, and his approach to this golf course emphasizes the importance of limiting mistakes.
“I think a lot of it’s keeping the ball in play. Around the greens, it can get really challenging,” Scheffler said.
“Over the years here, I’ve done a good job of staying patient, waiting to get hot. There are some opportunities out here on this golf course, but there’s also some severe punishment. For instance, the front nine today was when I got hot and could take advantage of it.”
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.
