Scottie Scheffler has made a positive start to the Players Championship, where he is the two-time defending champion.
Scheffler won the 2024 Players despite a neck injury, and currently finds himself T20 after round one at TPC Sawgrass.
The 13-time PGA Tour champion carded a three-under 69 in Florida, with Lucas Glover, J. J. Spaun and Camilo Villegas all tied for first, although the round did end early due to darkness.
The trio all shot six-under 66s in their opening rounds, with Rory McIlroy and Billy Horschel among five players just one shot back.
Rickie Fowler meanwhile is among a large group on four-under, with the likes of Robert MacIntyre and Patrick Cantlay then level with Scheffler.
Scottie Scheffler feeling ‘okay’ about opening round 69 at the Players Championship
TPC Sawgrass is once again the iconic host for the tournament, with the world number one making his thoughts on the course clear in his post-round press conference.
Asked if he was happy with his round, he replied: “I feel okay about the round. I think the golf course is playing nice.
“There’s punishment out there with the heavy rough, and obviously a lot of hazards. A bit of a breeze this afternoon. Overall felt like I did some decent things out there and gave myself some chances.”
And asked to share what he did well and what he could have done better, Scheffler responded: “I hit a ball kind of out of play off of a tee. Felt like I could have holed a few more putts.
“At the end of the day I did a lot of good things on the course. Hit a lot of good putts. I stayed patient out there. I didn’t try and force anything around the golf course.
“I gave myself enough opportunities to shoot a better score, I just wasn’t able to score as well as I would have hoped to.”
Scottie Scheffler issues frosty missed putts verdict at TPC Sawgrass
Scheffler was frustrated with his putting in practice for the tournament, but he was left satisfied with that area of his game after Thursday’s round.
It remains to be seen how that will develop as the event progresses, while there is also uncertainty about the role the weather will play in Florida.
There is, of course, room for improvement for the American, who won the title by five strokes and one stroke in 2023 and 2024 respectively.
And that was certainly his plan post-round, with Scheffler having also been asked if he will hit balls later that evening.
“I’ll hit a couple,” he said. “Randy is here, so just make sure I got the right feels. Then maybe hit a few putts, then get some dinner and get out of here.”
And asked what he puts the missed putts down to, a somewhat frosty Scheffler replied: “So the hole is about this big.
“Sometimes when you’re putting from 10 feet it could go in here and then other times it ends up right there. So you tell me.”
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