Scottie Scheffler expands lead with opening 65 at TOUR Championship

ATLANTA – Scottie Scheffler’s lead was gone after the first hole and a feeling of deja vu briefly swept through East Lake Golf Club.

Scheffler began the last two TOUR Championships at No. 1, 10-under in the FedExCup Starting Strokes format, and failed to close it out with a season-ending victory. A year ago, his lead was gone by the end of the first round.

It had never come this quick, though. Scheffler started Thursday in that familiar 10-under spot. An opening birdie from Xander Schauffele and a bogey from Scheffler drew them even at 9-under.

But Scheffler’s 2024 season has not been like his previous two. The Texan separated himself from the rest of pro golf, rattling off seven wins, including the Masters, THE PLAYERS Championship and the Olympics, surpassing even the loftiest expectations set at the start of the season.

Thursday was different, too.

Scheffler played mistake-free golf after the first hole, carding seven birdies en route to a 6-under 65 at the renovated East Lake. It was the low round of the day, one better than Collin Morikawa, who sits in second alongside Schauffele. Scheffler’s lead is now seven, the biggest lead he’s held at the TOUR Championship.

“I wasn't thinking about the lead out there today,” Scheffler said. “There's no reason to. It's the first day of the tournament.

It’s strange to consider Scheffler might still have something to prove after his historic 2024, but that opportunity presents itself this week. If there’s a nit to pick from his last two seasons, it’s been his inability to close at the TOUR Championship. Scheffler held a six-shot advantage ahead of the final day of the 2022 TOUR Championship but lost to a surging Rory McIlroy.

The pressure will only intensify as his latest attempt progresses. The world No. 1 did his best to deflect any talk of the lead after his opening round Thursday, insisting there’s still a long way to go.

“I'm trying not to think much about the Starting Strokes stuff,” Scheffler said. “I think it's still a bit weird with it not being a traditional event. But yeah, it was nice to get off to a good start in the first round, and I feel like I did a lot of things well today.”

Or everything. Scheffler hit 10-of-14 fairways and 16-of-18 greens while ranking fifth in Strokes Gained: Putting. Scheffler birdied five of his final seven holes.

“Scottie was almost in every fairway it looked like,” Schauffele said. “It looked like he was going through wedge practice while he was out there.”

If there’s one player who has matched Scheffler’s form, even for brief periods, it’s Schauffele. He broke through with two major championship victories and was the only player who could catch Scheffler in the FedExCup at the BMW Championship. But the world No. 2 played even-par golf after his opening birdie, unable to keep up with Scheffler’s pace, a familiar theme for the rest of the PGA TOUR membership all season.

Thursday was either the start of King Scheffler’s latest coronation or the harrowing calm before the storm. What is unquestioned is Scheffler tightened his grip on his first FedExCup trophy Thursday. Is there anyone left to pry it from him?