Scottie Scheffler (-13) has today signed the best card in the second round of the Hero World Challenge, a bogey-free 64, eight under for the day, a score that has propelled him directly to the solo lead, with a two-shot advantage over Akshay Bathia (-11) and Justin Thomas (-11). It is his best result in the fourteen rounds of competition he has already played at the Albany Golf Club, but it should also be noted that at the halfway point of the round, his score was seven under through nine holes…
At times, it seemed as if the World Number One was going to blow the tournament wide open with a historic score. The King’s mercy? Sounds nice, but ask Scottie: if it were up to him, another seven birdies would have fallen on the back nine in the Bahamas.
The main lines of the round played today by the Texan are perfectly recognisable in his standards: very solid (and long) off the tee, greens in regulation in abundance, two or three tap-in birdies, and a 66, 67, or 68 safely in the bag after not holing any putts from beyond four metres and missing a few short putts, whether for birdie or to save par. Sound familiar?
Today, however, he holed almost everything he had from two and three metres (also from one or one and a half metres), in addition to adding a nice birdie putt from about five metres. Whether it’s the claw grip or whatever it is, and it’s too early to draw conclusions, but if this guy starts holing putts consistently from those distances, we could at least see a repeat of his relentless 2024 in 2025.
What seems very clear at this stage is that Scheffler has been working tirelessly for several weeks. And he probably won’t stop until the season kicks off in Hawaii. He’s not willing to give up ground. Today, only seven players shot under 70. On Thursday, fourteen did. The greens were somewhat firmer, and the wind blew more. Scottie cared little or nothing about it. It will certainly be very interesting to see how that claw grip performs over the weekend when the pressure increases. It’s not as if they’re playing for a Major, of course, but the scent of victory always quickens the pulse.
