Scottie Scheffler was standing on the sixth green when a baby began to shout. His wails cut through the hubbub of fans jostling for a view of the world Nos 1, 2 and 3 – Scheffler, Rory McIlroy and Xander Schauffele.
The baby was warned that Scheffler had stared him down. So his parents pulled out the pacifier and led the offender out of earshot. The loudest cry of all, however, came a few moments later – after Scheffler had sent his putt on its way.
‘Get in the hole!’ someone else bellowed. Unfortunately, the ball had other ideas. Scheffler missed that birdie chance from 14ft 6ins. And several more opportunities went begging during this opening round of The Players Championship.
Twelve months ago, Scheffler became the first player in history to win back-to-back titles here. This year, he is chasing a historic three-peat.
Jack Nicklaus is the only player to win three Players titles but they came before the tournament moved to TPC Sawgrass in 1982.
So it would be remarkable achievement, even for a remarkable player. It will certainly require an improvement on this opening-round 69.
Scottie Scheffler finished his opening round of The Players three shots off the leaders
The world No 1 could not hide his frustration en route to shooting a 69 at TPC Sawgrass
Scheffler missed several putts which would have taken him up the leaderboard on Thursday
Heading into Friday, after four birdies and one bogey, Scheffler sits two shots behind McIlroy and three shots off the leaders.
It could have been worse – he escaped with only a bogey after a dreadful drive down the 10th. But it could have much better, too. Scheffler missed from 14ft, 13ft, 10ft, 7ft, 6ft and then, on the last, 15ft.
‘I could have holed a few more putts,’ he admitted afterwards. ‘I gave myself enough opportunities to shoot a better score, I just wasn’t able to score as well as I would have hoped.’
He felt like he hit a lot of good putts. They just didn’t drop. So the world No 1 finds himself with work to do. But he has overcome far greater hurdles here before.
Last year, Scheffler was plagued by a dodgy neck that left him barely able to swing the club. He still triumphed after matching the biggest comeback in Players history.
Twelve months on, he must find a way to hole more putts. Last week, at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, he didn’t make one from longer than 10ft 9ins. Of the 51 players who made the cut, only two had a worse week on the greens.
On Thursday, he ranked 89th among the field in putting. The problem? Sawgrass offers few chances to cut corners. As Scheffler said himself, the secret here is simple: ‘Playing good… you can’t fake it around this place.’
At one point on Thursday, Scheffler – who has been world No 1 for 95 weeks – put both hands over his eyes and threw back his head in frustration and disbelief.
Scheffler is forced to chip out of trouble after a wayward drive on the 10th hole in Florida
The world No1 is eyeing his first victory in 2025 after a dominant 12 months last season
That is what this place can do. There are few greater tests of discipline and accuracy. There are few harder places to win. ‘There’s punishment out there,’ the world No 1 said.
Scheffler is still awaiting a first victory of 2025 – he punctured his hand cutting Christmas ravioli and has been stitching his game back together ever since.
He has not finished outside the top 25 this season and was still a heavy favourite to triumph here. It’s no wonder. No one since Tiger Woods has been more dominant than Scheffler was in 2024, when he amassed nine wins, $30million in prize money and a few hours in a Kentucky jail.
By those standards, this was pretty dull. But even when Scheffler fails to catch fire, he is rarely out of contention. He won’t let go of this title without a scrap.
