Scottie Scheffler made his worst score of the year. Guess what happens next?
Scottie Scheffler on the Charles Schwab Challenge.
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For Scottie Scheffler, Friday marked a new beginning after an unusual week in his professional golf career.
What happened in the last seven days? Chances are you already know it, or at least have an idea. Last Friday Scheffler, a new father and No. something happened to call a police officer who then arrested Scheffler; brought to the city of Louisville and arrested, charged with several charges and then released at his PGA Championship tee time; then he went out and shot 66. Scheffler ended up finishing T8 all week, very good considering the conditions but also his lowest finish in six races. The case and investigation is ongoing.
Enter this week's Charles Schwab Challenge. It always amazes me that these guys – even those without newborns or legal battles involved – play tournaments the week after the big games; shouldn't there be some kind of emotional drop? No one could blame Scheffler for overstepping. But the event is at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Tex., a PGA Tour stop and one not far from Scheffler's Dallas home.
Thursday morning bookended Scheffler's strange week. Before he fired the mayor of Louisville and the police chief held a joint press conference announcing the release of the video and confirming that, despite the reports, the charges were not dropped. The images did Scheffler well in the court of public opinion; The internet seems to have generally agreed that the video showed a misunderstanding and an overzealous official. But in a real court? We will have to wait and see.
And just after that press conference wrapped up, Scheffler pulled out the first hole. One less than 1.
Driving number 4, the pre-tournament favorite appeared in the races; The sportsbooks saw his odds of winning the tournament as close to 50/50, which is an odd figure in a field of 132 players. But then something unusual happened to Scottie: He bogeyed No. 7. He bogeyed No. 9. Then on the 157-yard par-3 13th he hit a squirrelly shot too short and to the right of the green found water, the furthest off the tee ball ever. who is in the field. He got down, found a bunker with his next one and made triple bogey.
That in itself was remarkable. Scheffler had not made a triple since last August, when he did so in the first round of the Tour Championship. It also sent him three places on the circuit, a place he rarely explores these days. But it was what happened next that reminded us of who Scheffler really is.
He initially steadied the ship en route, making four pars and a birdie to come home in 2-over 72. It was just the second time he shot under par in a round this season – on the Saturday of last week's PGA Championship, the day. after being arrested, he was the first – but he kept him in the shouting position.
Scheffler did not speak to the media after Thursday's round but when he hung up on No. 10 on Friday morning his clubs were ready to talk. He birdied the first three holes before going up on No. 13, a hole he had tripled the day before. This time he hit one to 15 feet and made a 2 birdie putt. That must have felt like a compliment.
After his irons became his formidable foe on Day 1, Scheffler reminded us why he's an all-world shooter midway through Round 2. On 4 18 he stuck to two feet. A bird. At the par-5 start he found the front edge on his second shot and made an easy birdie. On the second par-4 he dropped the wedge to within two feet again. A bird. And on the par-4 third he hit one from the fairway bunker to three feet. A bird.
A fourth in a row took him to three under par for the tournament, within a few shots of the lead and back to his place as betting favourite. He made it all the way home until No. 18, where a fade and a mishandled second left him long on the par green — but he did it, too, to keep a clean sheet and finish Friday with a 65.
Scheffler also did not speak to the media on Friday. I think he feels there is a lot of media involving his name, image and likeness this week. Perhaps we'll hear from him again on Sunday, when he grabs his fifth trophy in seven starts.
At the weekend.
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