World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler sealed his first triumph of the year on the PGA TOUR with an emphatic 8-shot wire-to-wire victory at THE CJ Cup Byron Nelson.
The 28-year-old entered the final round at TPC Craig Ranch with an eight-shot advantage and cruised throughout the last day carding an 8-under 63 to end the tournament on 31 under, eight shots clear of second placed Eric Van Rooyen of South Africa and claim his first victory of the season at his hometown tournament.
The American also equalled the PGA TOUR’s lowest 72-hole score with a total of 253, a record he had the opportunity of breaking at the last but missed his birdie putt meaning he had to compromise with a share of the record alongside fellow American Justin Thomas who set the record total at the 2017 Sony Open, and Sweden’s Ludvig Aberg who matched the record at the 2023 RSM Classic.
This is Scheffler’s 14th win on the PGA TOUR and first since the hand injury suffered during Christmas which caused him to miss the start of the season.
“It seemed like I played some good golf. I kept myself in position most of the week,” he said.
“[Van Rooyen] played a really good round today and put a lot of pressure on me. On the front nine, I did a good job of responding and kept him at bay. I played some nice balls
“It’s pretty special. It’s hard to it’s hard to put into words. I got my first chance to play a professional event here in 2014 and I’m very thankful for that.
“I learned a lot that week, and I was very inspired to come out here and try to make a living in this game. I’m very fortunate to be in this position.”
American Sam Stevens finished the event in third on 20 under, with fellow countryman Jordan Spieth a shot further back in fourth. While eight players tied for fifth: Sam Burns, Mark Hubbard, Will Gordon, Eric Cole, Kurt Kitayama, Ricky Castillo, Adam Schenk, and Takumi Kanaya.
What is the next event?
The next event on the PGA TOUR schedule is the Truist Championship taking place between 8-11 May at The Philadelphia Cricket Club in Pennsylvania.