Scheffler Keeps Momentum at Byron Nelson
McKINNEY — Scottie Scheffler hovered near the top of the leaderboard all weekend but couldn’t secure his first title at the AT&T Byron Nelson on Sunday.
The former Highland Park standout, currently ranked No. 2 in the world, finished in a tie for fifth place in the local PGA Tour stop at TPC Craig Ranch.
Scheffler wound up at 20-under par over four rounds, which was three shots behind champion Jason Day of Australia, who was paired with Scheffler during the first two days.
Scheffler had the tournament lead at the halfway mark after firing a 64-64—128 on Thursday and Friday. However, he struggled to a even-par 71 on Saturday and couldn’t recover.
“I feel like I played solid,” Scheffler said. “The things that I wanted to improve on over the last three weeks, I feel like I did a good job. I hit a lot of good putts this week. I think I struggled a little bit with the speed of the greens. I didn’t swing it my best this weekend, but I’m sure that’ll be an easy fix going into next week.”
It was the best finish at the Nelson in five tries for Scheffler, who made the cut while playing in his first Tour event as an amateur in 2014 — just two weeks after winning a state championship as a junior for the Scots.
Almost a decade later, Scheffler has won six events in the past 15 months, including his first major at the Masters in 2022. This season, he has placed in the top 12 in a remarkable 12 consecutive starts, including a pair of victories.
Now he turns his attention to pursing his second career major at the PGA Championship, which begins Thursday in Rochester, New York.
“I’ve never played Oak Hill. I’ve been to Rochester once before for an amateur tournament, and it was in June and I remember it was really cold. So that’s kind of all I remember,” Scheffler said. “I know that it’s a great golf course. I’ve heard it’s very challenging.”
Two other former HP standouts also competed this week at the Nelson, but neither made the cut. Cody Gribble (70-73—143) was 1-over par, while Paul Haley (72-75—147) was 5-over. Both are competing regularly on the PGA Tour this season after extended absences.
