Scottie Scheffler played alongside Rory McIlroy on day one of the FedEx St. Jude Championship.
Scheffler carded an opening round of two-under par 68, while McIlroy struggled to a round of 72.
The 30-year-old world number one struggled with his driver and irons at times, but he still gained strokes on the field in both departments.
Scottie Scheffler putted solidly on Thursday at the FedEx St. Jude Championship, and it’s fair to say that he was unlucky not to hole more than he did.
Meanwhile, McIlroy struggled with all departments of his game, and lost strokes to the field with his iron play and his putting.
Scheffler and McIlroy are big fans of one another, and they are unquestionably the best two golfers on the planet.
However, the feeling in their group in Memphis on Thursday was rather flat more than anything else.
Scottie Scheffler delivers verdict on his game after day one at FedEx St. Jude
Scheffler spoke to reporters after his opening round in Memphis on Thursday.
The world number one responded when asked to sum up his round at TPC Southwind.
“I felt like I hit a lot of quality shots with my irons. It was just — you know, I did a good job of being patient and not trying to force it too much,“ he admitted.
“I feel like I was right on the edge of having a good day kind of all day is how I would describe it. So I felt like patience-wise, I did a pretty good job.
“I didn’t feel like I hit a ton of fairways. I was in the first cut a lot.
“I hit a couple of tee shots where I thought were going to be in the fairway and they kind of catch those trees that overhang and missed a few fairways that way. I still hit a lot of greens not being in the fairway a bunch.
“It’s like you can look at it from that point of view and think maybe I got away with it a little bit, and then you look at the other side, and it’s like I hit a lot of good tee shots and iron shots and didn’t get a lot of close looks at birdie. That’s kind of the other side.
“Then I hit a lot of lips, I felt like, on the green. That’s kind of the other side. You’re like, well, could have been a lot better, could have been a lot worse, I don’t know.“
Scottie Scheffler will be looking for big improvements on day two
TPC Southwind was certainly very difficult on day one of the FedEx St. Jude.
You know it’s been a challenging day when five-under par is leading a PGA Tour event after the first round.
Scheffler is well-placed on two-under, but he will be keen to sharpen up his iron play on day two and on into the weekend.
The four-time major champion has only won once on the PGA Tour this season, and he’ll be desperate to change that this week in Memphis.
Scottie Scheffler is more in sync with his game than Rory McIlroy is right now, and that was clear to see on day one of the FedEx St. Jude Championship.
That said, the American will still expect much more than what he produced on Thursday at TPC Southwind.