Just two days after being named PGA Tour Player of the Year for the second straight year, Scottie Scheffler is staking an early claim to a three-peat of the Jack Nicklaus Award.
The 27-year-old World No. 1 shot 9-under 64 at Kapalua Resort’s Plantation Course on Friday in Kapalua, Hawaii, to take a one-stroke lead over Tyrrell Hatton, Sungjae Im and Brendon Todd at the midway point of the Sentry. He improved to a 36-hole total of 16-under 130, which marked the first time that Scheffler has posted 16-under par or better through two rounds.
Scheffler made his first – and so far only – bogey of the tournament at the second hole but bounced back with a birdie at the third and then holed a 25-foot eagle putt at the fifth. He tacked on two more birdies on the front nine and then reeled off four birdies in a row starting at No. 12. He circled his eighth birdie of the day at the last.
Scheffler, who won the Hero World Challenge in December, continues to show improvements in his putting since he started working with Phil Kenyon before the Ryder Cup in late September. Scheffler gained more than two strokes to the 59-man field on the greens on Friday. When he does that, he’s tough to beat. But leading after 36 holes hasn’t always been to Scheffler’s benefit. This marks the 10th time he’s held or been the co-leader after 36 holes on Tour and he’s converted just 2 of 9 to date, winning the 2022 Masters and 2023 WM Phoenix Open.
The Sentry: Photos
“Scores around this place are pretty low, but it’s one of those places if you go out there and play well you’re going to get rewarded. If you start not hitting it in the right spots, you can get in trouble,” he said. “Just got to keep the pedal down out here.”
Here are four more things to know from the second round of The Sentry.