Scheffler got off to a blistering start in the first round, sinking birdies on Nos. 3, 4, 5, 6, and 8. Then at the par-five ninth hole, he played his second shot beautifully onto the green to set up an easy five-foot putt for eagle. It comes after LIV Golf was humiliated by the PGA Tour with an embarrassing set of statistics.
Taking to social media, droves of viewers commended Scheffler for the incredible performance, which matched the low front nine score at the CJ Cup since it moved to TPC Craig Ranch four years ago. “Well, Scottie Scheffler has won his first tournament of the season. Officially scared of what’s to come,” one X user wrote, with another adding: “Lol Scottie Scheffler just shot 29 on the front! When he’s on, he’s literally unbeatable. Put a low one up there again, Scottie!”
The 2025 CJ Cup Byron Nelson marks Scheffler’s sixth start in the event and first since 2023. The Dallas resident is additionally quite familiar with TPC Craig Ranch, having made his PGA Tour debut at the course back in 2014.
“Yeah, it’s a lot of fun,” Scheffler said of returning to the golf club in McKinney, Texas. “I have really good memories of this tournament.
“This tournament has always treated me really well. I was fortunate to get a spot here when I was a senior in high school. It was my first PGA TOUR event. I have a lot of great memories of this event.”
Scheffler additionally relished the opportunity to play alongside Spieth – a native Texan from Dallas who attended UT Austin – in their hometown tournament. “Playing with Jordan here will be really fun,” he added.
“Jordan is obviously a huge part of the community here, and with the success he’s had on the course and the effect he’s had off the course here in the community, the community here obviously loves him. It’s always fun when him and I get to play together at this event.
“Si Woo [Kim] and I are members at the same club here in Dallas. We play in the same money games on weekends. He’s a lot of fun to be around. I’m really looking forward to the week.
“We’ll certainly have a good amount of people from Royal Oaks out here supporting Si Woo and me, and we’ll have a lot of people from Dallas supporting all three of us. So it should be a lot of fun.”
