– Scottie Scheffler felt a slight whiplash in his neck after hitting a shot on hole 11 of his second round at the THE PLAYERS Championship. He had just started the day. It was his second hole. The world’s Number One, affected. The alarm went from yellow to orange on his tee shot from the 12th. He couldn’t take the club back normally and had to receive treatment from the physios twice during the round.
Scheffler finished the round, but with problems. “It was hard for me to finish the day, but at least I managed to stay in the fight. I hope it improves and I can make normal swings tomorrow,” explained the American. We will have to keep an eye on his evolution. It would be strange if he withdraws, as it didn’t seem that serious, but we’ll see if he has limitations in movement.
– The most incredible thing about Scheffler is that without making “normal swings” (SIC) and with discomfort, the man scored a card of 69 strokes. Only twelve players did less than him on the second day. In this sense, even affected, he has managed to set an absolute record at THE PLAYERS since the tournament moved to the Stadium course at TPC Sawgrass in 1982. He is the first player in 42 years to string together six consecutive rounds under 70 strokes on this stage. In the sequence are the four he signed in his victory last year (68-69-65-69), when he became the sixth golfer in history to sign four rounds under 70 at the Stadium course, and the first two of this week (67-69). No one else has done it. The record, in fact, was at five consecutive rounds, shared by Fuzzy Zoeller (four in 1994 when he finished second, plus the last one in 1993) and Ian Poulter (the last three of 2018, plus the first two of 2019).
No one can now take away from Scheffler the distinction of being the first player to string together six consecutive rounds under 70 strokes at THE PLAYERS since 1982, although it should be noted that there are five other players whose streaks remain open and who could equal or surpass Scottie in the future:
– Xander Schauffele: adds four consecutive under 70, the last two from last year and the first two of this week.
– Hideki Matsuyama: adds four consecutive under 70, the last two from last year and the first two of this week.
– Jamie Lovemark: went under 70 in his last three rounds of 2018, his last participation in THE PLAYERS.
– Eddie Pepperel: went under 70 strokes in his last three rounds of 2019, his last participation in THE PLAYERS.
– Tyrrell Hatton: went under 70 strokes in his last two rounds of 2023, his last participation in THE PLAYERS.
It will be interesting to discover where Scheffler leaves the record and if any of these five picks up his baton. Be that as it may, only Scottie can improve the record of six consecutive this year.
– Jordan Spieth and Adam Scott confirmed on Friday that a meeting with Yassir Al Rumayyan is scheduled, news that was advanced by Golfweek and where the appointment is set for next Monday. In principle, the players present at the PGA Tour Board (Tiger Woods, Patrick Cantlay, Peter Malnati, Webb Simpson, Adam Scott and Jordan Spieth) are expected to attend, although it is not confirmed that they will all go, or even if they will go alone or be accompanied by other members of the Board. What does seem evident, according to Spieth and Scott’s responses, is that the idea did not come from the players. “We have been encouraged to have this meeting,” Spieth confessed yesterday. It is obvious that someone is very interested in the golfers sitting face to face with Al Rumayyan and thus drawing their own conclusions. Who? Nobody says, although it is not unreasonable to think that it was Jay Monahan himself and/or the representatives of SSG, the main defenders today (along with Rory McIlroy) of the agreement with the Public Investment Fund Saudi.
– Whyndham Clark has to date three victories in his career: two elevated tournaments (Wells Fargo and Pebble Beach) and the US Open. This ability to win very important events has led some journalists to label him as a “big game hunter”. Something like Brooks Koepka. They asked Clark about it and the Denver golfer didn’t like the idea. “Journalists can say what they want, but I would like to play well every week. My model is Scheffler this year and the previous one. That’s the pace I want to follow: play well every week. I want to be consistent,” he explained. More Scottie than Brooks.
By the way, Clark has revealed that one of the keys to his great performance from the Wells Fargo last year came from a putter change. It happened in the second round of the Valspar. “I had been playing very well for several weeks, finishing in the top ten from tee to green, but without success on the greens. I started using the Jailbird model (Odyssey) and the putts started to go in,” he explained.
– Matthew Fitzpatrick is second in the distance statistic from the tee. This sentence a couple of years ago was an absolute chimera. It is the demonstration that Fitzpatrick continues with his work to gain distance and hits it longer and longer. “I’m not able to shorten dog legs like Rory or Scottie, but I can make it roll on the ground many meters and be at their height. This course helps me for that,” he pointed out.
