While many other players struggled with strong wind gusts at Augusta National on Thursday, one player didn’t suffer.
It was Scottie Scheffler, the No. 1 player in the world, who shot a bogey-free 6-under 66, the first bogey-free round of his Masters career.
“It’s going to be a really challenging day. If I can get around the golf course without bogeys, I’m going to have a really good day,” Scheffler told ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt after his round. .
“When you enter any tournament, you want to get off to a good start, so today’s mission accomplished.”
Scheffler started the day strong, birdieing the par-5 second hole and posting a 2-under 34 on the par-3 sixth hole. He had no problems through the first nine holes and faced little adversity.
Then his round got even better on the 12th hole, the most famous par-3 in the world. He holed out for birdie From the sand. This moved him up to 3 under par and gave him healthy momentum heading into the back nine at Augusta National.
Another birdie followed on the par-5 13th hole.
Scheffler then made a brilliant approach shot on the par-5 15th hole for his fifth birdie of the day. He admitted on the 15th that he had “pulled” the second one, but no one could tell. His ball grazed the flagstick, but his great look for Eagle burned the edge.
but shot of the day Coming in on the par-3 16th, Scheffler was on the verge of an ace at the bottom of the cup. More birdies followed, and suddenly the 2022 Masters champion was one stroke behind leader Bryson DeChambeau.
“When you compare Scotty to other players, the number of bogey-free rounds he played and the number of shots he hit is amazing,” said Rory McIlroy, who played with Scheffler on Thursday.
“That’s the secret to winning major championships and big golf tournaments: making fewer mistakes rather than making a ton of birdies.”
Schaeffler did just that. He then made back-to-back pars on the 17th and 18th holes for a 66 and the odds-on favorite to win is in perfect position for Friday’s second round.
Indeed, mission accomplished.
Jack Mirko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through.Be sure to check it out @_PlayingThrough Cover more golf. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko In the same way.
