World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, known for his stoic demeanor, came close to boiling over on Thursday when his approach shot from off the green on the 18th hole came up short and rolled back to his feet. The American vented his frustration by repeatedly striking his front thigh with the shaft of his wedge.
Scheffler carded a 2-over-par 73 in the first round of the PGA Tour's WM Phoenix Open ($9.6 million purse) at TPC Scottsdale's Stadium Course (par 71) in Arizona on Thursday.
The bogey on 18 capped a turbulent round for Scheffler, who mixed five birdies with five bogeys and a double bogey. He sits tied for 89th, 10 strokes behind solo leader Chris Gotterup of the United States, who fired an 8-under 63. Scheffler declined media interviews and headed straight to the practice range. It marked his first over-par round on the PGA Tour since shooting 2-over in the third round of the Travelers Championship last June, ending an eight-month streak of at-or-under-par scoring.
The two-time defending champion at the Phoenix Open now faces an immediate challenge to make the cut. Scheffler holds the tour's longest active consecutive cuts made streak at 65 tournaments. Xander Schauffele, who had extended his streak to 72 tournaments, missed the cut at last week's Farmers Insurance Open. Tiger Woods holds the all-time record of 142 consecutive cuts made, achieved between 1998 and 2005.
Matt Fitzpatrick of England, the 2022 U.S. Open champion, sits alone in second place at 6-under, two shots behind Gotterup. Among Korean players, Kim Seong-hyeon is tied for 38th at 1-under, while Lee Seung-taek is tied for 56th at even par. Kim Si-woo, runner-up at last week's Farmers Insurance Open, shot 2-over to join Scheffler in the tie for 89th.