Scheffler starts with another round under par
Indoor TGL league announces 2025 dates
HOUSTON — Scottie Scheffler had his 28th consecutive round under par to start the year, a 5-under 65 on Thursday that left him one shot behind Taylor Moore among the early starters in the Houston Open.
Scheffler also extended his streak to 49 holes without a bogey dating to the third round of The Players Championship two weeks ago, where he became the first back-to-back winner in the 50 years of the PGA Tour’s flagship event.
The streak that matters is his bid for a third straight PGA Tour victory, a feat last accomplished seven years ago by Dustin Johnson.
That also was the last thing on Scheffler’s mind at Memorial Park, his final tournament before he heads to the Masters as a strong favorite.
“I don’t ever really put expectations on myself,” Scheffler said. “I try to be committed to my shots. I try to stay patient out there. At the beginning of the week, I’m not looking forward toward Sunday. I’m just focused on today.”
Moore came up short of the first hole and missed a 6-foot par putt. That was his lone mistake.
He pitched in for eagle on the par-5 third and was on his way, getting up-and-down on the 18th for a 64 to lead Scheffler and Joe Highsmith by one shot.
“After the first hole, just tried to see how many greens I could hit,” Moore said. “Got off to a little bit of a jump start there on 3, chipped in for eagle and birdied 4. Just got into the round.”
Adam Svensson was among four players at 66. Peter Malnati, coming off a victory last week at the Valspar Championship, shot 68.
Scheffler decided to take a little more time off last week at home in Dallas, mentally spent from winning the Arnold Palmer Invitational and The Players in consecutive weeks. He had a rugged start at Memorial Park, having to make a 10-foot par putt on No. 10 and not having his first birdie putt until his fourth hole at No. 13. He made a 12-footer.
It was his eighth bogey-free round of the year.
The Houston Open was last held in the fall of 2022, moving to a spring date for this year. That allowed the course to be overseeded, and the tough Bermuda rough from the fall has been replaced with very little rough at all.
TGL MULLIGAN LAUNCH: The indoor TGL league backed by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy will try again in 2025, this time with a new steel-supported structure replacing the inflated dome that collapsed in November, just two months before the league’s planned 2024 launch.
The league of six four-player teams uses a combination of simulators for the long shots and a high-tech, rotating green complex that allows for actual shots during the matches.
TGL has booked the first three Tuesdays in prime time, starting Jan. 7, on ESPN and ESPN+. That puts it the night after college football and NFL playoff games.