While many other players struggled with the powerful wind gusts at Augusta National on Thursday, one player did not.
That would be Scottie Scheffler, the world’s number one player, who carded a bogey-free, 6-under 66—the first bogey-less round of his Masters career.
“It was going to be a really challenging day, and anytime you can get around the golf course bogey-free, you’re going to have a pretty good day out there,” Scheffler said to ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt after his round.
“I think going to any tournament, you want to get off to a good start, and yeah, so mission accomplished for today.”
Scheffler started his day well, birdieing the par-5 2nd hole and the par-3 6th to shoot a 2-under 34. He did not have any trouble on his opening nine, facing little adversity.
His round then got even better at the most famous par-3 in the world, the 12th hole, where he holed out for birdie from the sand. That jumped him up to 3-under and gave him a healthy dose of momentum going into the meat of the back nine at Augusta National.
Another birdie followed at the par-5 13th.
Then, Scheffler hit a gorgeous approach shot into the par-5 15th and made his fifth birdie of the day there. He admitted that he “pulled” his second on 15, but nobody could have known. His ball painted the flag stick, but his excellent look at eagle burned the edge.
But the shot of the day came at the par-3 16th, where Scheffler nearly found the bottom of the cup for an ace. Another birdie followed, and suddenly, the 2022 Masters champion found himself one stroke behind leader Bryson DeChambeau.
“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,” said Rory McIlroy, who played alongside Scheffler Thursday.
“That’s the secret to winning major championships and winning big-time golf tournaments—more limiting the mistakes rather than making a ton of birdies.”
Scheffler did exactly that. He then went on to make back-to-back pars on the 17th and 18th to sign for a 66, as the odds-on favorite has put himself in an excellent position heading into Friday’s second round.
Mission accomplished, indeed.
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.
