The biggest story of the day had nothing to do with the man sitting on top of the leaderboard but rather the grip change made by the best player in the world.
Scottie Scheffler decided to employ the claw grip on putts inside of 10 feet, which created great intrigue in the golf world. He explained how this tournament, technically an exhibition and not an official PGA Tour event, serves as the perfect opportunity to tinker with various ideas. He went on to add how he and putting coach Phil Kenyon had brainstormed this idea earlier this year. But the two decided to wait until now to test it. The claw grip more-or-less worked out, as Scheffler carded a 5-under 67 on day one. Yet, he made only one putt outside 10 feet—his last stroke of the day on the 18th, a birdie attempt from about 13 feet.
He sits three strokes behind Cameron Young, who carded a flawless, bogey-free round of 64. The New Yorker is 8-under and is two shots clear of Justin Thomas. It will be interesting to see how Young plays on Friday with the lead, especially considering he is the only player in this 20-man field without an official PGA Tour title.
Everything you need to know about Round 2 of the Hero World Challenge follows below:
Tournament Leaderboard
1. Cameron Young -8 — 64
2. Justin Thomas -6 — 66
T3. Akshay Bhatia -5 — 67
T3. Ludvig Åberg -5 — 67
T3. Patrick Cantlay -5 — 67
T3. Scottie Scheffler -5 — 67
T3. Sahith Theegala -5 — 67
T8. Robert MacIntyre -4 — 68
T8. Nick Dunlap -4 — 68
T8. Sam Burns -4 — 68
T8. Keegan Bradley -4 — 68
T12. Russell Henley -3 — 69
T12. Sepp Straka -3 — 69
T12. Sungjae Im -3 — 69
15. Brian Harman -2 — 70
16. Aaron Rai -1 — 71
17. Wyndham Clark +1 — 73
T18. Matthieu Pavon +2 — 74
T18. Tom Kim +2 — 74
20. Jason Day +3 — 75
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Live Odds After Round 1
Odds for players to win provided by FanDuel:
Scottie Scheffler: +200
Cameron Young: +600
Justin Thomas: +600
Ludvig Åberg: +800
Patrick Cantlay: +1100
Sam Burns: +1400
Sahith Theegala: +1800
Akshay Bhatia: +2200
Russell Henley: +2200
Sungjae Im: +2500
Robert MacIntyre: +2800
Keegan Bradley: +3300
Nick Dunlap: +5000
Sepp Straka: +5000
Brian Harman: +8000
Aaron Rai: +12500
Wyndham Clark: +25000
Tom Kim: +60000
Jason Day: +60000
Matthieu Pavon: +100000
How to Watch
NBC and Golf Channel will provide live television coverage, meaning you can stream on Peacock too.
All times Eastern:
Friday, December 6: 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. (Golf Channel)
Saturday, December 7: 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. (Golf Channel); 2:30 to 5:00 p.m. (NBC)
Sunday, December 8: 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. (Golf Channel); 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. (NBC)
Round 2 Tee Times
All times Eastern:
10:55 a.m. — Tom Kim, Jason Day
11:06 a.m. — Wyndham Clark, Matthieu Pavon
11:17 a.m. — Brian Harman, Aaron Rai
11:28 a.m. — Sepp Straka, Sungjae Im
11:39 a.m. — Keegan Bradley, Russell Henley
11:50 a.m. — Nick Dunlap, Sam Burns
12:01 p.m. — Sahith Theegala, Robert MacIntyre
12:12 p.m. — Scottie Scheffler, Patrick Cantlay
12:23 p.m. — Akshay Bhatia, Ludvig Åberg
12:34 p.m. — Cameron Young, Justin Thomas
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.
