Scottie Scheffler bolted out of the blocks and didn’t look back last year at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson.
Scheffler recorded a scintillating 61 during the first round and a 63 in the second and fourth rounds as part of his eight-stroke, wire-to-wire victory. The 29-year-old Dallas resident set the tournament scoring record and tied the PGA Tour scoring record by finishing at a robust 31-under par 253.
“Yeah, definitely good memories from last year,” Scheffler said on Wednesday, one day before the start of this year’s tournament at TPC Craig Ranch in McKinney, Texas.
“I had a really nice week, just played a lot of really solid golf. I was fortunate to be the winner at the end of the week.
“In terms of just getting ready for this week, it was nice to have a home week, especially coming off a major championship. Got some rest Monday, did some practice at Royal Oaks yesterday, Pro-Am today, and go home and get some rest and get ready for an early one tomorrow.”
Scheffler made his PGA Tour debut in this event in 2014. The years have been kind to him, naturally, as he has fine-tuned his game to the point where he is the unquestioned top-ranked golfer in the world.
Now Scheffler’s back at the course which underwent a $25 million overhaul led by World Golf Hall of Fame member Lanny Wadkins.
“I actually came up and played the course a few weeks ago,” Scheffler said. “I think tee-to-green it is definitely better than what it was before. I think it’s a more interesting test. The greens have added a significant amount of slope to them, and some are a bit aggressive, but overall I think (Wadkins) did a really good job of creating some nice pin locations, and you definitely have to think your way around this place a lot more than you did before.”
Scheffler will try his luck at repeating as champion at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson after seeing a few putts go awry during his 14th-place finish last weekend at the PGA Championship.
“Yeah, I think — I guess just putting specific … you kind of just go through ebbs and flows, and putting is something, especially when you’re putting in wind and on greens without much slope, there’s going to be variants and how things are going,” he said.
“Overall, I feel like I’m in a good spot. I’ve actually putted the best that I have in my career so far this year and just kind of get a reset, get on some new greens, work on my reads, make sure I’m checking all my fundamentals.”
