Scottie Scheffler matched his own course record Friday at Memorial Park to take the clubhouse lead at the Texas Children’s Houston Open.
Scheffler carded eight birdies and no bogeys for a 62 in the second round. At 11 under par, he was one clear of Taylor Pendrith (65).
This is Scheffler’s sixth start of the season, following hand surgery because of a Christmas dinner mishap. Though he hasn’t yet won — coming off a seven-win season (and a gold medal) a year ago — Scheffler has not finished outside the top 25 since his return.
He tied for 20th in his Players Championship title defense, saying he felt just a little off with both his putting and ball-striking. And while he wasn’t fully pleased Friday, he was happy to see the ball drop.
“I felt like I was hitting so many good putts, especially at The Players, putts that were going around the edge. Today was a day where I felt like my ball-striking could have been a bit better and I was able to hole some putts,” he said.
Scheffler’s expectations, of course, are very high — he missed only one green and three fairways in Round 2. He gained strokes across the board, including 3.69 on the field in putting.
“I hit a lot of greens but I felt like my irons were just barely off, and I felt like I could have been hitting them a little bit closer to the hole, but overall kept it on the green, kept giving myself looks,” he said. “The way I was putting, I didn’t feel I had to force ‘em there by many pins if I wasn’t totally comfortable with the shot, so good results.”
This was one of the few starts in which Scheffler didn’t prevail last year. He had a 5-foot putt to force a playoff with eventual winner Stephan Jaeger, but missed. He also shot 62 in the second round in 2021 on his way to another T-2 finish.
Scheffler shares the course record with Tony Finau, who twice shot 62, in the second rounds in 2022 and ’24.
This is Scheffler’s final start before his Masters title defense in two weeks.
