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05/20 17:50 CDT Scottie Scheffler looks for putting rebound on revamped greens
at his hometown Byron Nelson
Scottie Scheffler looks for putting rebound on revamped greens at his hometown
Byron Nelson
By SCHUYLER DIXON
AP Sports Writer
McKINNEY, Texas (AP) --- Scottie Scheffler is eager to test the difficulty of
the revamped greens at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson a year after tying the PGA
Tour's 72-hole scoring record while winning his hometown event by eight shots.
The world's top-ranked player doesn't exactly have momentum on his side going
into Thursday's start at TPC Craig Ranch in suburban Dallas, given how putting
kept him from making a run as the defending champion at the PGA Championship
last week.
"Overall, I feel like I'm in a good spot," Scheffler said. "I've actually
putted the best that I have in my career so far this year and just kind of get
a reset, get on some new greens, work on my reads, make sure I'm checking all
my fundamentals."
The Lanny Wadkins-led redesign of the par-71 layout, at a cost of nearly $25
million, focused mostly on new bentgrass greens with more contours. Additional
bunkers helped transform the fairways as well.
Undulating greens were a big part of the PGA story at Aronimink, where
Scheffler couldn't make a run to contention Sunday after missing a 4-foot
birdie putt early and two par putts that were even shorter on the back nine. He
ended up tied for 14th.
Scheffler said he has been reminded of last summer, when a rough time on the
greens left him tied for eighth at the Scottish Open before he huddled with
putting coach Phil Kenyon and won his first British Open the next week.
"Our discussion was basically like, I just want to make sure I'm starting the
ball on line, and I want to make sure I'm lined up where I think I'm lined up,"
Scheffler said. "That's what I did, and I went on to have a great putting week
and a great tournament."
Scheffler certainly had that at the Nelson a year ago, finishing at 31 under
with a 253 total that tied Justin Thomas (2017) and Ludvig Aberg (2023) for the
lowest in PGA Tour history.
Since Scheffler missed the 2024 Nelson for the birth of his first child, it's
been three years since he finished a day anywhere but atop the leaderboard in
the event he attended as a child, and where he made his PGA Tour debut as a
high school senior in 2014.
The four-time major champion was the first wire-to-wire Nelson winner since Tom
Watson in 1980.
"Definitely good memories from last year," Scheffler said.
Scheffler raised the trophy first at an event that is cherished at least as
much by Jordan Spieth, his friend and fellow Dallas resident and former Texas
Longhorn.
Both are playing amid questions about the future of a tournament that doesn't
carry $20 million signature status, and is being played without almost all the
top players a week after a major. The PGA Tour is considering an overhaul of
the schedule that would put more emphasis on higher-paying events.
This is the sixth tournament at TPC Craig Ranch, which is the Nelson's third
venue since 2017. Next year, the PGA Championship will be at nearby PGA Frisco.
Both Dallas-area tour events --- the other is at venerable Colonial Country
Club in Fort Worth --- have been played in May for decades.
The Nelson has largely struggled to draw golf's biggest stars since its
namesake died 20 years ago.
"A lot of that stuff's out of my control," Scheffler said. "This tournament
means a lot to me. Mr. Nelson means a lot to a lot of us from the Dallas area,
but especially myself. We've gone through some changes with this tournament
over the years. If the tour wants my opinion, I have nothing but great things
to say about this event."
The Nelson has an agreement through 2030 with TPC Craig Ranch, and South Korean
conglomerate CJ Group is in the third year of a 10-year sponsorship deal. The
highest-ranked of several South Koreans in the field is Si Woo Kim at No. 24.
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AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
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