Scottie Scheffler slumps to slow start at Charles Schwab Challenge
Scottie Scheffler opened with a lacklustre 2-over 72 in the first round of his home event on the PGA Tour.
Scottie Scheffler endured a tough opening round by his own high standards at the Charles Schwab Challenge.
Home-favourite Scheffler, 27, carded a disappointing 2-over 72 in blustery afternoon conditions to fall way off the pace in the first round at famed Colonial Country Club in Texas.
The clean-shaven World No.1 was teeing it up just two hours after a huge update was made into his shock arrest during the US PGA at Valhalla last week.
A Louisville Metro Police Department chief gave a press conference where she confirmed the detective involved in the Scheffler case 'violated policy' by not turning on his body-worn camera.
After the press conference, LMPD then released two previously unseen videos of the incident from a nearby traffic poll camera and another from a nearby police dash cam.
Scheffler began brightly with two birdies on the first four holes but soon came unstruck with bogeys at 7 and 9 to go out in a level-par 35.
The wheels then well and truly came off for the PGA Tour superstar when he dunked his ball into the water on the par-3 13th.
It was the only ball to find the water on that hole all day.
Scheffler then compounded the mistake by spinning his third shot off the green and into the rough.
He chipped up to some seven feet but missed the putt and it led to a triple-bogey six.
It marked the sixth double bogey or worse that Scheffler has made in his last five starts on the PGA Tour, as opposed to just one in his first seven starts of the 2024 season.
Scheffler did get one of those shots back with a birdie from 12 feet on the 17th, but it all added up to a 2-over 72.
It sees him lie seven shots off the pace and just outside the halfway cut mark as it stands.
The last time Scheffler missed the cut on the PGA Tour was at the FedEx St Jude Championship in August 2022.
The two-time Masters champion recorded his first over-par round since August 2023 in the third round of the PGA Championship last week. That round was also 2-over par, albeit a 73.
Another home favourite to struggle in the opening round was Jordan Spieth, who birdied the last for a 71.
Max Homa was perhaps the shock round of the day as the World No.10 carded a dismal 8-under 78 to sit bottom of the pile.
Open champion Brian Harman and PGA Tour star Tony Finau opened with fine rounds of 66, and two-time major champion Collin Morikawa went round in a solid 68.
PGA Tour veteran and Texas-born Charley Hoffman hit the front on day one with a flawless round of 5-under 65.
