World No 1 Scottie Scheffler produced another display of his outstanding consistency, shooting a six-under 66 on Thursday to end his opening round at The Masters a stroke behind leader Bryson DeChambeau.
It was a typical Scheffler display, with little drama, few remarkable highlight reel moments but, at the end of the day, a score that underlines why the 27-year-old American is a favourite this week to slide back into the Green Jacket with a repeat of his win two years ago at Augusta National.
Playing partner Rory McIlroy, who grinded out a 71, saw at close quarters Scheffler’s ability to succeed without much in the way of drama in his bogey-free round.
“Scottie does such a good job of – it doesn’t look like it’s six under par, and then at the end of the day it’s six under par. He’s just so efficient with everything,” said the Northern Irishman.
“If you look at Scottie compared to the rest of the field, the amount of bogey-free rounds he plays and he shoots is phenomenal, and that’s the secret to winning Major championships and winning big-time golf tournaments is more limiting the mistakes rather than making a ton of birdies.
“I made three bogeys today, which is fine out there in these conditions, but just need to tidy it up a little bit to try to keep up with him.”
Consistency has led Scheffler to finish in the top 10 in seven of his eight PGA Tour events this season, including victories last month at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and The Players Championship and a runner-up effort at the Houston Open.
It would be a stretch to say that there is “Scottie-mania” among fans at Augusta but there certainly is an appreciation of the way he navigates so many rounds with such calm.
Patience is frequently cited as one of his main qualities but Scheffler said that hasn’t always come naturally.
“I typically expect a lot out of myself. And so when things aren’t going the way they’re supposed to be, especially when I was younger, I would get pretty frustrated,” he said. “I try to manage myself a lot better than I did back then and I’m seeing some good results of that.
“But days like today, it’s very easy to say, hey, stay patient, don’t make too many mistakes out there, all that stuff, yada yada yada. But all it comes down is hitting good shots and managing your way around the golf course, and I think it’s a lot easier said than done for sure.”
Scheffler reached the turn at two under before making the most of the back nine with birdies at 12, 13, 15 and 16.
REPORT: DeChambeau fires 65 to lead Masters
Scheffler is the epitome of the golfer who has everything in place for each round, both practically and mentally, but there is one thing for which he admits he’s not well prepared.
His wife, Meredith, is due to give birth to their first child later this month and Scheffler says he may need to scramble to deal with that prospect.
“People have asked us how our preparation is going for the baby. I feel like, well, we’re a little underprepared,” he said. “The nursery is not quite ready and we’ve had some issues at our house the last few weeks. I think that’s the exciting part. I think we are definitely underprepared to be parents.
“As far as her going into labour, I wouldn’t say I’m very concerned. We haven’t seen any of the early signs. But pregnancy is weird. It can happen at any time. Yeah, open lines of communication and she can get ahold of me if she needs to. I’m ready to go at a moment’s notice.”
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Photo: Warren Little/Getty Images
