Scottie Scheffler started the year with a 5-under 65 on Thursday, his 28th round under par. As one of the early starters in the Texas Children’s Houston Open, he was one shot behind Taylor Moore. Wilson Furr, a rookie on the PGA TOUR, joined Moore afterward. Furr birdied his final two holes to go to 6-under.
In addition, Scheffler increased his run of consecutive birdies to 49 holes, which dates back to THE PLAYERS Championship’s third round two weeks ago. In that event, he became the first victor of the PGA TOUR’s premier event in its 50-year history.
What counts is his attempt to become the first player since Dustin Johnson 7 years ago to win 3 straight PGA TOUR competitions.
At Memorial Park Golf Course, Scheffler’s last competition before entering the Masters as a heavy favourite, that was also the last thing on his mind.
“I never really hold myself to high standards. I make an effort to focus on my game. There, I attempt to exercise patience. Sunday is not something I’m looking forward to at the start of the week. All I have on my mind is today.” Scheffler said.
Moore missed a 6-foot par putt to miss the first hole. That was his one and only error. After making a pitch for eagle on the par-5 third, he proceeded to lead Scheffler and Joe Highsmith by one stroke by going up and down on the 18th. A 5-under 65 was also produced by Davis Riley in the afternoon wave.
“I basically attempted to see how many greens I could hit after the first hole. Started off with a slight advantage on 3, chipped in for Eagle, then birdied 4. I finally entered the round.” Moore said.
Late in the day, Furr matched him, holing out for an eagle on the 5th par-4 from 120 yards, and finishing with birdies on the 9th par-3 and 8th par-5, including a 20-foot putt on the ninth.
“I made a strong number. It was downwind and it landed right behind the hole, ripped right back to it and just never looked like it was going to miss.” Furr stated regarding the Eagle.
After receiving a card on the Korn Ferry Tour the previous year, the 25-year-old former Alabama golfer is currently playing on the PGA TOUR for the first time.
“Undoubtedly, it’s a dream come true. It’s kind of inspirational to be surrounded by the world’s finest golfers every day. There is no greater job than that.” Furr said.
Adam Svensson, Mackenzie Hughes, Beau Hossler, Aaron Rai, and Alejandro Tosti were at 66. Peter Malnati shot 68 after winning the Valspar Championship in Florida the previous week.
The week before, mentally exhausted from winning THE PLAYERS and the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard in back-to-back weeks, Scheffler made the decision to take a little more time off at home in Dallas. At Memorial Park, he struggled right away, needing to make a 10-foot par putt on the tenth hole and not making his first birdie until the fourth hole, the 13th. He then hit a 12-foot shot.
It was his seventh round of the year without a bogey.
The Texas Children’s Houston Open has moved to a spring date for this year; it was last held in the autumn of 2022. This made it possible to overseed the course, and very little rough at all has taken the place of the challenging Bermuda rough which was present during autumn.
It’s kind of like what the Texas Children’s Houston Open attempted to accomplish when it used to take place one week before the Masters.
“The absence of rough on the course surprised me. I am aware that they are attempting to replicate some aspects of the previous week’s tournament. Right now, the golf course is in fantastic condition. Playing the runoffs is interesting. This is a really tough course , you don’t need rough. With the wind rising up over the next few days, I believe it will be quite challenging.” Scheffler said.
Scheffler had just two birdies in a 10-foot radius. On the 17th hole, he holed from 25 feet, and on the 2nd, he struck an 18-foot birdie. He made a long-range two-putt on the third par-5 hole.
At the eighth par-5, Highsmith showed great finishing form by getting up and down from the right rough and hitting his tee shot to within ten feet of the hole on the par-3 ninth.
Similar to Furr, Highsmith is a rookie on the PGA TOUR, and this year his class has already had an impact. The winners of the Farmers Insurance Open and the Mexico Open at Vidanta are Matthieu Pavon of France and Jake Knapp of the United States. Sami Valimaki of Finland, Chandler Phillips, and Jimmy Stanger all competed on the back nine of the final round.
On Thursday, two more rookies created a tiny bit of history. The grandchildren of former Masters champion Charles Coody, Parker and Pierceson Coody, made history by being paired together as the first twins to compete professionally on the PGA TOUR.
When the tee times were revealed, they both believed it to be an error.
“Until the round began, it was undoubtedly a little more strange. After the round began, everything seemed normal.” Pierceson claimed following a 69 that was one shot higher than his brother’s.
