– It’s still early to determine if what happened at the WM Phoenix Open, that out-of-character version of Scottie Scheffler, even letting himself be dragged in the final round, was an accident. What can be said is that all the clues left by the first round of the Genesis Invitational suggest that it was.
The World Number One has returned to form at the debut on the South Course at Torrey Pines. He delivered a remarkable scorecard of 70 strokes in very difficult conditions and placed himself in fourth position, just two strokes behind Denny McCarthy (-4), a player who relied on his credentials as the world’s best putter to seize the lead. The man sank three birdie putts of over six metres on the opening day.
Scheffler started the round notably, surely when the wind was blowing strongest. His first seven holes were almost flawless. He was precise with the driver, which wasn’t easy, and brilliant with the irons. In this area, he finished as the third best of the day. He made four birdies and only committed one bogey due to a three-putt. Even in this, he reminded us of his best version.
It’s true that from the 8th hole his game suffered a bit, coinciding with the minutes when the rain intensified. He struggled to hit the greens and that’s when he showed patience and great short game to keep the holes going. He didn’t leave himself clear birdie chances except on the 18th hole, where a new trademark three-putt, missing a very short birdie putt to finish, prevented him from finishing at -3 after hitting the green in two with two great shots. It’s also worth mentioning that on the 16th he made a great par putt of over two metres.
Scheffler has returned to form. He has been patient. He has once again conveyed that image of someone who seems to have almost everything under control and not even the two three-putts caused him to show any frustration. He went out to play with that mission and achieved it. It wasn’t easy in those conditions.
– The first day of the Genesis was as tough and challenging as expected. The wind and rain were the main protagonists. The rough turned into a black hole and the undulating greens of Torrey Pines took care of the rest. Indeed, with the water, controlling the backspin effect on the greens became almost a titanic task. Thus, only three players scored under 70 strokes and barely thirteen played under par. Here are 45 of the top 50 players in the world. A great day of golf full of challenges.
– McCarthy has a one-stroke lead over Seamus Power (-3), a true specialist on windy days, and Patrick Rodgers (-3). Both managed the day with just one bogey. Among those under par are Nick Dunlap (-1), Sam Burns (-1), Nico Echavarría (-1), and Min Woo Lee (-1).
– Rory McIlroy (PAR) managed to save the day. Let’s use a cliché. Perhaps it wasn’t a day to win the tournament, but it certainly was a day where it could be lost. Rory managed to avoid being left out. His short game saved him, with six out of seven recoveries, including a chipped birdie on the 8th hole, his penultimate of the day this Thursday.
– Interestingly, at +1, important names like Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa, Viktor Hovland, Tom Kim, and Shane Lowry have clustered. All of them remain perfectly in the tournament. From there, the rest will have to perform extraordinarily well to give themselves a chance on Sunday, cases like Jordan Spieth (+4), Max Homa (+4), or Cameron Young (+6).
– It’s curious, speaking of rounds filled with strokes, how badly things went for most of the men who are making the most noise for the European Ryder squad and who reside on the PGA Tour. Apart from Rory, all scored +2 or worse: Ludvig Aberg (+2), Tommy Fleetwood (+3), Robert MacIntyre (+4), Thomas Detry (+4), Sepp Straka (+6), Matthieu Pavon (+7), and Rasmus Hojgaard (+10).
