The three stages of Scottie Scheffler's opening-round 64 at the AT&T Byron Nelson

MCKINNEY, Tx. - To fully understand Scottie Scheffler’s opening round 7-under 64 at the AT&T Byron Nelson, it’s best to split it into thirds.

There were the first six holes – a dominant display that gave flashbacks to THE PLAYERS Championship earlier this year and the 2022 Masters. It included four birdies in the first five holes, 72 feet of made putts and a chip-in for eagle on the drivable par-4 6th to cap it off. Hard to start better than that.

The next seven holes were an apt encapsulation of the few times things have gone south for Scheffler this season: a sudden cold streak with the putter. As good as Scheffler can look with the flat stick in his hand, it’s left the No. 2 player in the world at opportune times. It cost him a chance to win the Arnold Palmer Invitational earlier this year when he lost nearly two shots to the field putting in the final round. It kept him out of the final at the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play, too.

Between No.’s 7 and 13 on Thursday, Scheffler three-putted twice, missed birdie putts of 12, 8 and 4 feet and missed a 7-footer for par on the par-4 13th. From 6-under through six to 3-under and eight shots back of leader Seung-yul Noh.

“I was pretty frustrated mid round. I didn't feel like I was doing anything wrong, I just kind of got on the wrong end of a few things, and the putts definitely weren't falling middle of the round,” Scheffler said.

That’s been Scheffler’s diagnosis since winning at TPC Sawgrass earlier this year. He feels he’s hitting the good putts; they just haven’t been falling. Other than the missed 8-footer for birdie on No. 11, Scheffler said all the putts were hit well.

OK, so maybe that was the sign that it just wouldn’t be Scheffler’s day. Not so fast.

The final five holes might’ve been the most telling of the bunch, a symbol of the player Scheffler has become, going from a consistent top-20 player to one of the best in the world over the last several years. Fresh of back-to-back bogeys at 12 and 13, Scheffler responded with a pair of birdies on 14 and 15. He drove the green on the par-4 14th and two-putted from 38 feet for the first; then made an 18-footer for birdie on the difficult 220-yard par-3 15th. He capped it with an eagle on the par-5 18th, the only one at the closing hole all day. With the wind back into his face, Scheffler fired his 258-yard approach to within 15 feet and drained the putt for one of the biggest roars of the day for the hometown kid.

“I'll remember those putts towards the end and the beginning of the round, I hit a lot of good putts today and was fortunate to shoot a good round,” he said.

Scheffler’s mid-round snafu means he’s still four shots back of Noh (-11), but if the final five holes are any indication that he’s already overcome his worst stretch of golf this week, it’s difficult to imagine he will be trailing for long.