Scottie Scheffler is a sensational golfer in every single department of the game, but perhaps his outstanding consistency is the most remarkable thing about him.
Scheffler opened his BMW Championship account with a round of four-under par 66, one that featured just two bogeys and six birdies.
The 29-year-old from Dallas, Texas, came out after the 90 minute rain delay like a man possessed, and birdied three of his final four holes at Caves Valley.
Scheffler was surprised by a couple of things at the BMW Championship on day one – the pin position on the 11th and just how difficult the 17th hole played.
However, Scheffler still managed to upstage world number two Rory McIlroy, beating the Northern Irishman by four strokes.
Despite Robert MacIntyre’s opening round of 62 at the BMW Championship, the world number one is still very much the favourite to win the tournament.
There was something very special about Scheffler’s opening round in Baltimore – he did something that he would have found impossible to do two years ago.
Why Scottie Scheffler’s first round at the BMW Championship was remarkable
Scheffler actually drove the ball really well at Caves Valley on Thursday.
His putting was top notch as well. He finished day one in second and fifth place respectively in those two categories.
However, his iron play was unusually poor, and he was ranked way down in 26th position in the strokes gained approach category.
He actually lost strokes on the field on Thursday with his approach play – a real rarity from the world number one.
Despite his below average performance with his irons, Scheffler still managed to card a 66, and he is currently sitting in third place with three rounds still to play.
That round would not have been possible two or three years ago.
The 29-year-old’s putter saved him on day one of the BMW Championship. He made around 109 feet of putts and that was unheard of for him a couple of years back.
He has now taken his game to a completely new level, whereby he is able to still win golf tournaments even when he isn’t at his scintillating best with his iron play.
And with that in mind, Scheffler’s rivals should be very concerned indeed.
Scottie Scheffler’s putting stats over the past four seasons on the PGA Tour
Scheffler’s improvement on the greens has been truly remarkable to witness over the past few years.
It wasn’t until he switched to the mallet putter in 2024 when he started to make serious strides, though.
Here are his strokes gained putting stats over the past six seasons on the PGA Tour:
| Year | Scheffler’s strokes gained putting rank |
| 2019-20 | 117th |
| 2020-21 | 107th |
| 2021-22 | 58th |
| 2022-23 | 162nd |
| 2024 | 77th |
| 2025 | 18th |
Before he started putting well, everyone used to say, ‘if only Scottie could even putt to an average standard, he would dominate the game’.
Now Scheffler is actually a very good putter and guess what, he is on another level to every other player.
Scheffler’s opening round of the BMW Championship proved that he has come so far over the past two or three years.
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