Scottie Scheffler (-2) has opened the The Masters at Augusta with a round of 70 and sits in sixth place. It’s the fifth consecutive Masters that the World No. 1 has started inside the top six. These are Scottie’s happy Thursdays.
Scheffler has cleared doubts. Because yes, there were after his display at THE PLAYERS Championship. Today he was solid and accurate. Above all, he was brilliant off the tee, missing only two fairways throughout the round.
His start has been sensational. He made an eagle at the 2nd and a birdie at the always tricky 3rd hole. Dreamlike. From there he played it safe, as Scottie likes. Managing the tempo, without forcing and waiting for the par-5s to keep building. The only weakness in that game plan was the par-5s. He failed to record a birdie on the 8th, 13th and 15th. That is what prevented him from getting closer to the leaders.
Scheffler presents a serious bid for his first Green Jacket. Starting sixth is very good, especially playing in the penultimate group of the day. He did encounter the worst conditions, with the greens quicker and firmer and the surface understandably more worn. That is why that round should be given extra credit.
The only bad news for Scheffler, if we want to split hairs, is that in his two previous Masters wins he started on Thursday in third place (2022) and second (2024). Curiously, in 2023 he started sixth and finished tenth, unable to keep pace with Jon Rahm. We’ll see whether the three-shot gap to, chiefly Rory McIlroy, will force him out of the strategy that serves him so well — letting birdies come naturally.
Justin Rose (-2) and Scheffler (-2) were the best players among the groups that went out later to play. “I hope that tomorrow, going out a little earlier, with better and, above all, slower greens, I can gain some advantage”, said Scottie himself.
If Scottie’s Thursdays at Augusta are happy, this particular Thursday for the men of LIV Golf has been ill-fated. The best of the Saudi contingent was Sergio García, with an even-par round. None have been able to beat the course and their two biggest exponents, Jon Rahm (+6) and Bryson DeChambeau (+4) have effectively taken themselves out of contention for the victory. After Sergio, LIV’s best golfer was Dustin Johnson (+1)
