Houston (AFP) – World number one Scottie Scheffler began his attempt for a third straight win with a solid two-under-par round of 68 at the PGA Tour’s Charles Schwab Challenge in Fort Worth, Texas on Thursday. After the first round at the Colonial Country Club, American John Pak held a three-shot lead after he carded a seven-under 63.
Scheffler arrived back in his home state after winning the second major of the season, the PGA Championship, by five strokes on Sunday. The two-time Masters winner had gone into that tournament on the back of an eight-stroke win at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson, and victory this week would make him the first golfer to collect such a hat trick since Dustin Johnson in 2017.
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Scheffler’s round began with an eagle on the par-five first and a birdie on the second, but he followed that with a bogey on the par-four third. His back nine was unspectacular, featuring a birdie on the 11th and a bogey on the 16th. He conceded that he had found it tough off the tee.
“It was a challenging day. I didn’t hit the ball in the fairway a lot. Around this golf course, you have to be in the fairway. I did a good job of posting a score, and hopefully I get out tomorrow in some softer conditions and take advantage of that,” he said of his early start on Friday.
“I tried to do my best to stay patient today. It was a grind of a day. The winds were pretty gusty, and it was challenging. The greens got firm. It doesn’t look like we’re going to get much rain this week, so they should continue to firm up, and the golf course should be real nice by the weekend,” he added.
While the crowds flocked to Scheffler, Pak went about his business superbly with his bogey-free round, which included an eagle on the par-four 10th, his opening hole. Pak holed out from 147 yards to give himself the perfect start.
“It was just like a perfect nine-iron. The wind was off the left, and I just tried to hit a 145 shot. I actually pushed it a little bit because I was aiming left of it, and it kind of just trickled in,” he said. “We didn’t really see it, but saw a couple of guys behind the green throw their hands in the air. It was kind of nice to see that fall in,” he added.
Pak, who turned professional in 2021 and is in his rookie season on the PGA Tour, had played previously at Colonial thanks to a sponsors exemption. “It is definitely difficult seeing courses for the first time, and definitely having one under my belt kind of helps me navigate the course a little better,” he said.
A group of nine players are bunched three shots back of Pak, including Japan’s Ryo Hisatsune, Germany’s Matti Schmid, and England’s Matt Wallace.
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