McKinney, Texas – Scottie Scheffler Cradles his son Bennett – who missed his beloved hometown of CJ Byron Nelson in 2024 – and worked hard to keep his emotions in a TV interview like in a victory speech a few minutes later.
The top-ranked player had time to prepare for the moment as he entered Sunday’s final round and he even added some drama by chasing PGA Tour’s 72-hole scoring record.
Scheffler matched the 253 points set by Justin Thomas at the 2017 Sony Open and was equivalent to the RSM Classic by LudvigÅberg on the RSM Classic six years later, with a score of 63 under the age of 31.
The out-of-control victory comes in his 11 years of debuting on Nelson’s PGA Tour, a high school student, after 22 years of filming Scheffler, then 6.
Schaffler couldn’t help but think about the day in 2014 when his wife Meredith was his girlfriend – not yet the mother of their first child – Sister Callie (now the mother of two) was his caddie.
“My family can be here, and it’s really a very, very special memory, and I think sometimes it all breaks down,” Schefler said. “When the kids come to watch this game, we have a lot of good memories. I just dream of being able to play, and being able to win the game is a dream.”
Scheffler could break the Tour record and then lead to a bogey on par on par 3 on par 3 and get par on Greenside Bunker with 5-5 closed holes. His 8-foot putter is birdie, recording a slide on the left side of the hole.
Hideki Matsuyama has the lowest score this season, with 35 in Kapalua’s PAR-73 Plantation course.
Schefler tied the 54-hole Nelson record with eight shots, with no one competing with six in the final round. South Africa’s Erik van Rooyen matched Scheffler’s 8-shot 63, ending with 23 in the Under-23 game, leading three times at Sam Stevens and four shots at another hometown favorite Jordan Spieth.
“We spoke last night and I told you it’s going to be a steep mountain, that’s it,” Van Rooyen said. “Scotty is almost flawless, and that’s what you expect from the world number one. I’m proud of me playing golf.”
Scheffler and Spieth finished the game’s two lowest rounds. Scheffler opened Thursday at the defenseless TPC Craig Ranch in a suburban community about 30 miles north of Dallas.
Spieth shot 62 in the final round and knew his friends and Texas alumni were about to be the first to win the game they both cherished.
Spieth was the guy who made his debut in Nelson four years before Scheftler. Most importantly, Spieth argued in 2010 as a 16-year-old, leading many to believe he would win the game now.
Schefler stole those bragging rights.
“I think I’ll relax,” Schevler said with a smile.
Spieth played with Scheffler two days ago and he had 12 shots behind the back after the weekend, so he understood what had changed. They won the game with 13 PGA Tours. Now, Spieth is the first tow truck.
“I was definitely better than him a while ago, and now I’m sure not now,” said Spieth, a three-time Grand Slam champion. “I hate admitting that to anyone, but I just looked at the first two rounds and it was like I had to get better. It was very inspiring.”
This is Schaffler’s first win this year in May to win 10 wins in the past three years, including two Masters wins.
Scheffler’s previous best Nelson score was fifth in recent appearances two years ago. He was the first Nelson winner since Tom Watson 45 years ago.
“I’m not jealous of him winning any other event,” Spieth said. “I’m jealous of anyone who won in the week. When Scotty wins, I’m glad. It’s OK. If I’m not going to win, I’d love him to win the game.”
Scheffler beat Steven Bowditch’s 259 Nelson score record in 2015. The game was played in TPC for four seasons. It is usually a 70-shot, and the course layout for the last three days is par 69-shot when heavy rain forced officials to convert 4-shots to 3-shots. Baudic is under 18 years old.
The edge of victory was Nelson’s second biggest win, behind Sam Snead’s 10-shot victory in 1957, known as the Dallas Open Invitational.
“It’s a golf course where you can run, and I know I can’t just follow the finish line today,” Scheffler said. “I know I have to put in a good round.”
The players were allowed to lift, clean and replace golf balls on the fairway in the first three rounds due to heavy rains on Wednesday and Friday, but not in the final round. In the first round of the 2023 RSM Classic, Aberg took the so-called first-choice lie in the first round.
