Scottie Scheffler is hoping to make history at The Players Championship by becoming the first player to successfully defend his title.
He made an excellent start in pursuit of that goal during the first round at TPC Sawgrass, where a 67 left him just two off the lead heading into Friday’s action.
Scheffler continued in a similar vein over his opening holes following his 8.35am ET (12.35pm GMT) tee time, with birdies on his first and fourth holes of the day leaving him one behind leader Wyndham Clark. With his game looking as good as it had during his win at last week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational, though, he suffered a setback on his fifth hole of the day, the 14th, when he received treatment before taking his tee shot at the 489-yard par 4.
Scottie Scheffler receiving treatment on the 14th tee for discomfort in his neck. He remains just one shot back of the lead. pic.twitter.com/CM13olqc0yMarch 15, 2024
Scheffler, who is in a group with Justin Thomas and Rickie Fowler, had been due to go first following his birdie at the previous hole, but instead he went from the green to a chair where he received treatment on his neck.
In the meantime, Thomas and Fowler took their tee shots, with Thomas walking on before waiting and Fowler staying back for Scheffler to complete his treatment. That took another minute or so after his playing partners had teed off, and eventually Scheffler was ready to go.
The treatment appeared to have done the trick to begin with. When Scheffler finally took his shot, he striped the ball 286 yards down the middle before finding the green in two and two-putting for par.
However, the next hole didn't go as well. After hitting his tee shot left into some trees, he eventually bogeyed the hole - his first since his opening hole of the tournament. He then had to have more work from the physio before he could continue on the 16th hole, where he found the fairway with his drive.
At that point, Scheffler's objective was probably just to get through the round without aggravating the issue further so he could undergo more extensive treatment before the weekend's action. However, despite the neck problem still bothering him, he continued to produce some excellent golf, too, including chipping in for birdie at the par-3 third, his 12th hole of the day.
From wincing in pain on his tee shot to chipping in for birdie 🐥Is there any stopping Scottie Scheffler? 😅 pic.twitter.com/FkTVEnLD23March 15, 2024
Last year, Scheffler cantered to victory at The Players Championship by five shots over Tyrrell Hatton.
