HOUSTON – Scotty Schaeffler opened with two straight birdies and midway through the Houston Open, he set the Memorial Park course record he set in 2021 at 8 under 62 with a one-shot lead among early starters on Friday.
It was the most complete round for Schaeffler. Schaeffler missed the first month of the season, recovering from a glass puncture in the right palm, which requires mild surgery.
The only green he missed was in second place (the 11th round).
“I felt like I had made some important par saves yesterday. Today, I had the golf course right in front of me most of the time and had a lot of birdie look,” Schaeffler said. “So I didn’t feel like I was struggling with too many things, mainly because I was on the fairway.”
It was the eighth time Schaeffler shot below 62. One of them was 59 in the FedEx Cup playoffs held at TPC Boston in 2020.
He led Canada’s Taylor Pendris with one shot. He shot 65. Jackson Suber scored 66 despite finishing with a four-putt double bogey, and was three more behind on Friday with a further 66.
Rory McIlroy played in the afternoon and began 11 shots behind Scheffler. It didn’t take long for the umbrella to come out because of McIlroy, which Schaeffler and the early starters avoided.
“That was very different to what we thought,” Schaeffler said. “Today it looked like we were checking out this morning’s forecast — it’s going to be one of those times when we’re going to see some delays there and we’re going to play on and off.”
Instead, he rode the 10th hole from the start with a 10-foot birdie putt and 11th with a 25-footer. Schaeffler played bogey-free in his second straight round.
He was 11 under 129.
Pendris pulled inside Schaeffler’s one shot as he had three birdies on the final five holes.
“I was able to hang all day and make some late ones,” Pendris said.
The 7-under 133 group includes Gary Woodland, who has regained his form after returning from brain surgery last year. He stretched to the second nine of six birdies on seven holes, with the exception being a par-5 third hole that missed a 5-foot birdie.
“I needed it (a good stretch). I wasn’t running that way,” Woodland said. “I’ve been knocking on the door for a while and it’s nice to see some results. My coach, Randy, has been saying I have all the tools.
That’s Randy Smith, Schaeffler’s longtime coach.
Schaeffler felt that his ironplay wasn’t as sharp as he wanted. He also knew he had a good feel to the green so he didn’t have to attack the pin if not needed. It led to the kind of stress-free round he likes. Throwing eight birdies and Schaeffler numbers, he will enter pole position on his final start weekend before the Masters.
Michael Kim played his role in reaching Augusta National. He is 52nd in the world rankings, and this week’s Top 50 won the Masters invitation and shot 65.