Scottie Scheffler (PAR) will be at the weekend in the Genesis Invitational. Today he signed a five-under-par in the 26 holes he played at Riviera, completing the eight holes remaining from the first round, interrupted yesterday due to lack of light after the rain suspension, and the 18 necessary for the second round. The Texan had gone to the hotel yesterday with a hefty +5 in ten holes, a result he managed to partially fix this morning with a two-under-par in the eight holes he had left. Then, in the second round, he recorded a 68, three-under-par, which allowed him to make the cut, although not without some difficulties.
In fact, Scheffler reached the 17th hole, the last par 5 of the iconic Californian course, almost with the urgency of needing a birdie, which he indeed marked on the card after sinking a putt of just over a metre. Afterwards, after missing the tee shot on the 18th, he still had to face a tricky situation, having to sink a par putt from about two metres. Scheffler sent the ball to the bottom of the cup and pumped his fist, aware that a final mistake could have left him out of the weekend.
The World Number One has significantly improved his performance on the course. It is very likely that he hasn’t done enough to truly contend for the win this week at Riviera (he will probably start tomorrow twelve shots off the lead), but at least the possibility that he finishes within the top ten and extends to 19 the consecutive tournaments in which he has finished within the top ten should not be ruled out. Today, both in the final stretch of the first round he had to play and in the second, Scheffler played much more orderly and even left some good birdie opportunities behind. He hasn’t quite tamed the driver, but in return, his irons have regained much of their usual reliability. He also made more putts and, in general, avoided gross errors in all areas of the game, which were so abundant in those ten holes he played on Thursday.
With this week, it is now 68 consecutive cuts that the Texan has made, since he missed it at the FedEx St. Jude in 2022, more than three and a half years ago. He continues with a streak worthy of none other than Tiger Woods. In his statements after this second round, Scheffler acknowledged that he was fully aware that the last putt to save par on the 18th was decisive.
Moreover, continuing with his statements, he also cannot quite find an explanation for these dismal starts of his in the last three tournaments (Phoenix, Pebble, and Riviera). Or rather, he doesn’t really believe it is due to a specific cause, but rather a fatal coincidence. “I wouldn’t say it’s due to anything in particular,” he simply pointed out, beyond specifying particular circumstances of the game, such as playing in the afternoon session on Thursday, both at Pebble and Riviera, in more or less challenging conditions… As mentioned: not even he finds a convincing explanation. But three tournaments are many, and surely there is some reason, some detail to tie up…
