ORLANDO – Big expectations have followed Scottie Scheffler ever since he won the 2013 U.S. Junior Amateur at Martis Camp and became the first Texan to do so since a kid named Jordan Spieth.
Scheffler also won three straight individual state titles, joining Spieth as the only players to accomplish that feat at the time. He followed Spieth to Texas and just as Spieth did played on the U.S. Walker Cup team, in 2017.
By now, you may have noticed a trend.
Yet somehow, despite being the 2019 Korn Ferry Player of the Year, Scheffler has been lost in the shuffle as the star-studded trio of Viktor Hovland, Matt Wolff and Collin Morikawa beat him to the winner’s circle on the PGA Tour.
One week after Korea’s Sungjae Im claimed his breakthrough victory at the Honda Classic, could Scheffler, 23, be the next young gun to secure his maiden victory? He’s off to a flying start after posting a bogey-free 5-under 67 in the first round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
“It’s always great to be able to keep the card clean, especially on a day like today,” said Scheffler, (T-3) who trails Matt Every by two strokes. “It’s playing really tough out there.”
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Starting on the back nine, Scheffler circled his first birdie on his card when he rolled in a 28-foot birdie putt at 11 and was just off the putting surface in 2 at the par-5 16th and made a short birdie putt. His putter delivered again at 18 as he poured in a 29-footer at 18 to shoot 33. On the second nine, Scheffler wedged to 5 feet for birdie at the third and nearly drove the fifth green, pitching to a foot.
He didn’t hole any long ones on his second nine, but called a bunch of par saves the highlight of his round. Color veteran pro Brian Gay, who played alongside Scheffler on Thursday, impressed.
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“Shoot, every time I play with him, he’s going low,” Gay said. “He’s pretty long, hits it high, good putter and he’s kind of got an old-school upright swing that reminds me of Mark Calcavecchia.”
Gay has seen a lot of the young pros up close and personal and says Scheffler has what it takes to join the list of Tour winners soon.
“I don’t see why not,” he said. “It wouldn’t surprise me at all.”
Scheffler, who won twice on the Korn Ferry Tour last year, has picked up where he left off in his rookie season. He won the RSM Birdies Fore Love competition for making the most birdies and eagles (139) in the fall portion of the schedule, which included three top-10 finishes: T-5 at the RSM Classic, T-3 at the Bermuda Championship and T-7 at A Military Tribute to the Greenbrier.
Scheffler threatened to notch his first win in January at The American Express, finishing solo-third at 23-under 265. It marked the third time he held a share of the 36-hole lead on the season.
For all of his success this season, Scheffler isn’t one to get caught up in setting and chasing goals.
“I think in college I worried too much about my form and just too many, too much going on in the head,” he said. “I noticed if I start making goals into the future, I’ll start looking ahead and not focusing on the day-to-day.”
“So when I turned pro, I kind of had a little change of heart at the beginning of the season last year and it kept me going,” he added. “Just not over-thinking things and going out and playing.”
That includes not stressing over a potential secondary goal: making his Masters debut. He currently ranks No. 51 in the Official World Golf Ranking, and the top 50 after the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play earn an invite to play in the Masters. But he knows if he takes care of business this week at Arnie’s Place, where he once competed as a high school sophomore in the AJGA’s Wyndham Cup, he won’t have to worry about the fluctuations in the rankings anymore.
“I think winning here would get me into a few events as well, so looking at this week,” Scheffler said.
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