Houston (AFP) – Top-ranked Scottie Scheffler matched the lowest 72-hole score in PGA Tour history on Sunday, overwhelming the field to complete a wire-to-wire victory at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson tournament. In his final tuneup for the PGA Championship in two weeks, the 28-year-old from nearby Dallas finished 72 holes on 31-under par 253 at TPC Craig Ranch in McKinney, Texas.
“I feel like my game is trending in a good direction,” Scheffler said. “I’m excited to start the rest of the season.” He matched the lowest total strokes over four rounds in a PGA Tour event, a mark shared by Sweden’s Ludvig Aberg from the 2023 RSM Classic and American Justin Thomas at the 2017 Sony Open. Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama set the PGA 72-hole record in relation to par with a 35-under 257 to win this year’s Sentry on the par-73 Kapalua course.
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Scheffler, who won nine times worldwide last year, captured his first title of 2025 after firing an eight-under par 63 to defeat South African Erik van Rooyen by eight strokes. “This tournament means a lot to me. It was my first start as a pro 11 years ago and my sister caddied for me,” an emotional Scheffler said. “It feels like a lifetime of hard work and sacrifice for little moments like these and they are pretty special.”
Scheffler choked up speaking to fans, including much of his family. “I grew up coming to watch it,” Scheffler said of the event. “My family was all able to be here and it was just really special memories, and I think at times it all comes crashing down to me at once. I just dreamed to be able to play in it and it’s more of a dream to be able to win it.”
Reigning Olympic champion Scheffler captured his 14th career PGA Tour title and first triumph since last December’s Hero World Challenge invitational, an unofficial event. It was the most lopsided victory at the Byron Nelson since Sam Snead won by 10 strokes in 1957. “Scottie was practically flawless, which is kind of what you expect from the world number one,” van Rooyen said.
Scheffler became only the third wire-to-wire winner at the event, following fellow Americans Mark Hayes in 1976 and Tom Watson in 1980. Scheffler, the first Dallas-area player to win the event since 2007, claimed his ninth title in 14 chances with a 54-hole PGA Tour lead. It was his fifth in a row in that situation and first since last year’s Tour Championship.
Scheffler, who began the day with an eight-stroke lead, made a 13-foot birdie putt on the second hole and after suffering a bogey at the third hole, Scheffler reeled off birdies on the next four holes — each putt from eight feet or less — followed by a 20-foot eagle putt at the par-five ninth. Scheffler added a six-foot birdie putt at the 11th, a four-footer for birdie at 14, and a seven-footer for birdie at the par-three 15th before suffering a bogey at the par-three 17th.
Scheffler reached the tee at the par-five 18th needing a birdie to take the 72-hole record for himself. After blasting 303 yards off the tee into the fairway, Scheffler found a greenside bunker and blasted out to eight feet, but missed the birdie putt for the solo record, tapping in for par to complete a devastating week.
– Spieth fires 62 – Jordan Spieth, a three-time major winner recovering from left wrist surgery last August, fired a bogey-free 62 final round to finish fourth on 265, one stroke behind fellow American Sam Stevens. It was Spieth’s lowest PGA round since 2021 and comes two weeks before he tries to complete a career Grand Slam at the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow in Charlotte, North Carolina.
“The ultimate goal is consistent play, but it’s not bogey avoidance or anything like that. I’m not changing strategy,” Spieth said. “It’s just that my mechanics are just getting a little bit better each week. I’m able to do sufficient stuff maybe that I wasn’t able to do last year that maybe my wrist was holding me back, I’m not sure.”
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