Scottie Scheffler ties PGA Tours 72-hole scoring record with dominant CJ Cup win
McKINNEY, Texas — Scottie Scheffler cradled his year-old son Bennett — the reason he missed his beloved hometown CJ Cup Byron Nelson in 2024 — and struggled to keep his emotions in check for a TV interview, just as he did a few minutes later during the victory speech.The top-ranked player had time to prepare for the moment because of the giant lead he took into Sunday’s final round, and he even added a little drama by chasing the PGA Tour’s 72-hole scoring record.Scheffler matched that mark of 253 set by Justin Thomas at the 2017 Sony Open and equaled six years later by Ludvig Aberg at the RSM Classic, closing with a 63 to finish at 31-under par.The runaway victory came 11 years after his PGA Tour debut at the Nelson as a high school senior, and 22 years after a photo was taken of then-6-year-old Scheffler with the tournament namesake.Scheffler couldn’t help but think about that day in 2014, when his now-wife, Meredith, was his girlfriend — not yet the mother of their first child — and sister Callie, now a mother of two, was his caddie.“My family was all able to be here, and it was just really, really special memories, and I think at times it all comes crashing down to me at once,” Scheffler said.“We have a lot of great memories as kids coming to watch this tournament.
I just dreamed to be able to play in it, and it’s more of a dream to be able to win it.”Scheffler was in position to break the tour scoring record before a flubbed chip that led to bogey on the par-3 17th hole and a par from a greenside bunker on the par-5 closing hole.His 8-foot putt for birdie and the record slid by the left side of the hole.Hideki Matsuyama has the lowest score in relation to par this season, 35 under on the par-73 Plantation Course at Kapalua.Scheffler tied the 54-hole Nelson record with an eight-shot lead, and nobody got closer than six during the final round.
Erik van Rooyen of South Africa matched Scheffler’s 8-under 63 to finish at 23 under, t...