World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler shot an even-par 72 in the first round of the Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass, trailing leader Maverick McNealy by five strokes. He attributed his erratic driving to a switch back to his previous TaylorMade Qi10 driver after experimenting with a new model last week. Despite challenges, Scheffler showed strengths in approach play and putting.
Scottie Scheffler, the world No. 1 and pre-tournament favorite, faced a challenging opening round at the Players Championship on Thursday at TPC Sawgrass. He carded a level-par 72, mixing four birdies with four bogeys, and sits five shots behind early leader Maverick McNealy. Scheffler struggled significantly off the tee, hitting only seven fairways and repeatedly pushing shots right on holes including 10, 12, 14, 15, 16, 5, and 7.
The issues stemmed from a mid-round equipment change. After using TaylorMade's new Qi4D driver at last week's Arnold Palmer Invitational—where he finished tied for 24th—Scheffler reverted to his familiar Qi10 model, which he had relied on for the past two seasons. "The way I play, I always hit so many different types of shots and the one last week felt like it was going a little left on me," Scheffler explained. "When I want to hit my peeler, a lot of times I would hit it out of the middle of the face and it would start drawing on me, so I think that's a little bit today why the ball started going way right."
He noted a lack of trust in the new driver's performance on holes like 14, 7, and 16, where missing left is risky. Despite the tee woes, Scheffler gained strokes in approach and putting. He birdied the par-5 ninth—his final hole—with a precise tee shot down the left fairway, a layup to 70 yards, and a wedge to two feet. "It's nice finishing that way versus the other way," he said.
Scheffler expressed frustration over mental errors and shots given away, including a bogey on the seventh due to a poor lie in the rough and a messy par-5 second. He played alongside Justin Thomas and Tommy Fleetwood, who posted a 69 with an eagle on the 16th and three birdies around the turn, though he later dropped shots. Scheffler, a two-time Players winner, aims to join Jack Nicklaus as a three-time champion. In 2024, he has already won nine tournaments, including the Masters and Olympics gold. "I've got a different driver in the bag than I did last week—trying to clean things up," he added, emphasizing the need for sharper play ahead.
