Scottie Scheffler found his form again in the second round of the WM Phoenix Open on Friday.
He opened with a two-over-par 73 on Thursday, bringing an end to his run of 33 straight rounds at par or better.
It had some wondering if he might miss his first cut on the PGA Tour since 2022, but that didn’t happen.
Scheffler followed up with an impressive 65 at TPC Scottsdale, even though he still wasn’t at his best.
Scheffler didn’t speak to the media after Thursday’s round at TPC Scottsdale, showing just how frustrated he was with his play.
But he responded well the next day, carding a six-under-par round that put him back in contention.
Who knows? Maybe Scheffler needed that opening round. Perhaps it served as a reminder not to get complacent and helped him refocus on what works for him.
Scottie Scheffler explains the adjustment he made before his Phoenix second round
Scheffler didn’t get off to a flying start in his second round, either. It wasn’t until his fifth hole that he finally carded his first birdie.
But that proved to be the spark he needed, as he went on to collect six birdies by the end of day two in Arizona.
He didn’t look anywhere near top form, but his game management stood out. He played with a lot more discipline and avoided the errors that crept into his Thursday performance.
Speaking after Friday’s round, Scheffler spoke about what had changed for him between rounds.
“Yeah, I’ve always been a proponent of saying you can’t really find it during the tournament week,” Scheffler said. “But I found a little something in my grip yesterday that seemed to really help me.”
“Get my hands more securely on the club and yeah, I struck it much better today.”
“So, yeah, I felt a bit lost out there at times yesterday, so today, I felt a lot better. Felt more in control of my game and you can obviously see that through the – you know – cleaner card today.”
Scheffler was then asked by reporters how exactly he’d changed his grip between rounds one and two.
“I mean it’s kind of hard to explain but just get my hands a little bit more securely on the club is how I describe it,” replied Scheffler. “You know sometimes they can get out there pretty quick and so if they’re set too far behind it feels like my arms kind of take over from there instead of getting them nice and secure at address.”
Scheffler’s Phoenix Open stats highlight remarkable turnaround from day one to day two
There was a clear improvement in Scheffler’s play during his second round compared to the opening day. He finished eight strokes better than his first round.
Now, the task will be to go low again on Saturday and put himself back in the mix heading into Sunday.
The world number one has a habit of staying close to the leaders even when he’s not at his best. No one would be shocked if he was near the top of the leaderboard come Sunday afternoon in Phoenix. In fact, it might be more surprising if he wasn’t there at all.
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