Scottie Scheffler caps dominant Byron Nelson win with record-tying 72-hole score
Scottie Scheffler capped a dominant victory at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson with the lowest 72-hole score in PGA Tour history.
Scheffler fired an 8-under 63 on Sunday at TPC Craig Ranch to finish at 31-under 253, tying the low 72-hole mark, first recorded by Justin Thomas at the 2017 Sony Open and again by Ludvig Aberg at the 2023 RSM Classic.
After going birdie-bogey on Nos. 2 and 3, Scheffler rattled off four straight birdies and then capped his front nine with a 20-foot eagle make at the par-5 ninth. He birdies Nos. 11, 14 and 15, too, all from inside 8 feet to reach 32 under.
A flubbed chip that rolled back to his feet at the par-3 17th led to bogey, and Scheffler closed with par at the par-5 finishing hole, otherwise he would've shot 252.
Hideki Matsuyama won The Sentry earlier this year at 35 under, a PGA Tour record for relation to par. Scheffler is now the eighth member of the 30-under club, though only the second player who didn't accomplish the feat at Kapalua.
Scheffler's low-scoring week, which included a best-ball score of 17-under 54 over four days, came on the heels of last year's $15 million renovation to the TPC layout led by former major winner Lanny Wadkins.
'The players love a good, solid test of golf; they don't want it to be a putting contest,' Wadkins said. 'They want it to be something to test every bit of their ability from driving in the fairway and quality iron play and everything else that goes into shooting a round of golf. They want that, and that's what we intend to give them.'
Wadkins added during last week's appearance on Golf Channel's Golf Today that he'd be 'shocked' if the winning score was lower than 15 under.
Well, Scheffler obliterated that.
Erik van Rooyen finished second, eight shots behind. Third-place Sam Stevens was 11 back and Jordan Spieth, solo fourth, lost by 12.
This is Scheffler's first official PGA Tour victory since last June's Travelers Championship. He's more recently won the Olympics and Hero World Challenge.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NBC Sports
30 minutes ago
- NBC Sports
USGA says it's not necessary to test everyone's driver at events
Ahead of the U.S. Open, Fred Perpall, Mike Whan and John Bodenhamer of the USGA address weather concerns, the "dense" rough at Oakmont, why drivers fail testing, the USGA's next media rights deal and more. OAKMONT, Pa. – Driver testing for characteristic time, or CT, became a headline at last month's PGA Championship when Rory McIlroy's driver was deemed nonconforming just days before the year's second major, and it was later learned that world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler's driver also failed the test, which essentially measures the 'springiness' of the driver face. Whether driver testing becomes a talking point again this week remains to be seen, but the USGA is forging ahead with testing at the U.S. Open. According to John Bodenhamer, the USGA's chief championships officer, about a third of the field, a little more than 50 players, were tested this week at Oakmont. The USGA does not publish the results of the testing. 'There's nothing to suggest there are a ton of drivers that are over the limit,' said Thomas Pagel, the association's chief governance officer. 'It's less than a handful.' Following his victory at the PGA Championship, Scheffler said he'd like to see more 'robust' testing and that the current process only goes 'halfway.' Since the PGA Championship, many players have called for an all-or-nothing approach to driver testing and protocols that would either test the entire field at a particular event or no one. 'We test them throughout the year and don't think it's necessary [to test every driver each week],' said Bodenhamer. 'It would be difficult, from a time perspective, to test every driver and we don't want to be too intrusive.' Currently, a player's driver is tested about three times a year at various events on the PGA Tour or at major championships, and logistically it would be a challenge to test the entire field at this week's U.S. Open with 156 players and each test lasting about 15 to 20 minutes. Instead, the USGA, along with the game's other stakeholders, contends more comprehensive testing isn't necessary based on the number of drivers that fail the CT testing. Rex Hoggard, 'We think the testing that we're doing is commensurate with both the degree of failure that we see, which is pretty minimal, and quite frankly, when we see failure, at least currently, we're seeing clubs just literally creep over the line,' said USGA CEO Mike Whan. 'It's a line we draw — we aren't seeing when we're taking drivers off, drivers that are, oh, my gosh, look where that one went [over the limit].' Some players also questioned the testing protocols, pointing out that there is no testing for CT, or creep, at LIV Golf events. The USGA, which administers CT testing at Tour events and the PGA Championship, does not test drivers at LIV events but Pagel said 'any tour, men or women, who reaches out for support, we would support.'
New York Post
an hour ago
- New York Post
Chase Johnson, only black player in US Open field, looks to grow game with APGA Tour
OAKMONT, Pa. — If you're looking for a lesser-known player for whom to root at this week's U.S. Open, Chase Johnson isn't a bad option. Johnson, who competes on the Advocates Professional Golf Association, a circuit that provides opportunities for minority players, got into the field as the last of the 156 in it. Advertisement He was involved in a five-for-one playoff for the last spot at the Columbus, Ohio, final qualifier, but ended up as the first alternate — ahead of PGA Tour winners Eric Cole, Max Homa and Rickie Fowler. He got into the field when Bud Cauley became fully exempt via the Top 60 in the Official World Golf Ranking as of June 9. Cauley was one of the six qualifiers in Columbus. Advertisement With Tiger Woods his idol growing up, it's not lost on Johnson that he's the only black player in the field this week. 'That's one of the missions of the APGA Tour, which is great,'' Johnson said. 'I was able to kind of rebuild my platform a little bit out there on that tour starting in 2023, after I lost my Korn Ferry Tour card. Guys are getting great out there, and Willie Mack [another APGA player] played in the Open last year and qualified. 'It's just a matter of time. Like all these Pathway guys, like their version of PGA TOUR U, is developing some really strong players. We're going to keep on working on it, but hopefully I can continue to build my platform and build that platform for other players to just continue to grow the game.'' Chase Johnson, who qualified for the U.S. Open, hits a shot on the 13th tee during his June 11, 2025 practice round. Getty Images Advertisement Johnson wasn't daunted at playing against established PGA Tour players in the qualifier because he's played against these players since he was a youth. 'I definitely was the underdog in the playoff, but I didn't feel it like that way at all,'' he said. 'We all played together on Korn Ferry for two years. Then being on the Cobra Puma team, I've gotten to know Rickie to a certain extent over the last couple years, and then did an event for Tiger's Jr. Invitational last fall with Max. So. there was some familiarity with all the players.' Johnson noted he's even competed against world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler. Chase Johnson Johnson competes on the Advocates Professional Golf Association, a circuit that provides opportunities for minority players. Getty Images Advertisement 'Scottie and I are the same age, and I've been playing against him since we were juniors,'' he said. 'Obviously, he's figured something out a lot quicker than I did. But eventually I'll get to the point that I want to be at.''
USA Today
2 hours ago
- USA Today
New Jersey duo hoping to make impact at U.S. Open in neighboring Pennsylvania
New Jersey duo hoping to make impact at U.S. Open in neighboring Pennsylvania There are 156 golfers in this week's U.S. Open, but only two of them understand the beauty of the Navesink River and the aggravation of Route 35 traffic. A pair of New Jersey lifers. Chris Gotterup hails from Little Silver and attended Christian Brothers Academy. Ryan McCormick was raised in Middletown and went to Mater Dei High School. They aren't the sole New Jerseyans in the field this week at Oakmont Country Club in the Pittsburgh suburbs, but they are the only ones who didn't split at the first opportunity. Gotterup earned All-America honors at Rutgers, while McCormick became the Big East individual champion at St. John's. 'I know he takes great pride in that, and I take great pride in it,' Gotterup said of their local bona fides. 'There are good players who grow up in Jersey and go away to college. We're two of the only guys who have toughed it out and climbed through the ranks in a place where you wouldn't think you could do it.' Gotterup, 25, is making his second appearance at the U.S. Open after also qualifying in 2022. This is the first U.S. Open for McCormick, 33. More: 'It better not be easier when you're done': 5 things I learned from Gil Hanse on Oakmont 'It speaks to how quality the golf is in New Jersey and especially in Monmouth County,' McCormick said. 'It's awesome that we're both out here playing still.' Oakmont is an iconic venue, one of the most demanding in the country. When they tee off Thursday, however, don't expect guys who have played through tough conditions for much of their lives to be intimidated. 'I like to describe myself as someone who is gritty, and I know Ryan would say the same thing,' Gotterup said. 'That's just part of our New Jersey roots.' More: What would an 18 handicap shoot at Oakmont? Pros weigh in, and their answers are hilarious Chris Gotterup: 'Still earning my place' Golf is a funny game. In 2024, Gotterup was in good position to qualify for the U.S. Open, but he three-putted the final hole and missed the cutoff by one stroke. This year, at Canoe Brook Country Club in Summit, he rallied with a six-under final round to punch a ticket. 'It was looking like for a long time that I wasn't going to be here,' he said. 'I turned on the jets at the end, and it ended up being enough.' He'll need those jets at Oakmont, where he's grouped with Joakim Langergren and Mason Howell. They tee off at 8:46 a.m. Thursday and 2:31 p.m. Friday. 'In a perfect world, you'd be out here for two straight weeks trying to learn every little nuance that you could,' Gotterup said after a couple of practice rounds on the course. 'There are some holes where it breaks your brain; if you're in the rough and you hit it 40 yards short of the green, it's going to get there. It's a mental challenge more than anything.' It doesn't hurt that he won a PGA Tour event last year, shooting 22 under par at the Myrtle Beach Classic in South Carolina. 'That honestly feels like a long time ago,' Gotterup said. 'I feel like I'm still earning my place out here.' He's done that since graduating CBA. At Rutgers, he developed from an average college golfer into a star, and as a postgraduate at the University of Oklahoma he won the Fred Haskins Award as the most outstanding Division I golfer in 2022. At a time when the professionalization of college football and basketball is casting a cloud over the future of other intercollegiate sports, Gotterup can attest to the virtues of his time on campus. 'There were so many stepping stones for me that, even if I was good enough at Rutgers to turn pro, I would not be in the same position I am now,' he said. 'I needed those years of getting the crap beat out of me and coach yelling at me and teachers telling me, that I wasn't trying hard enough in school. There are all these pieces that built up to get my feet underneath me to the point where I can finally kick some (butt).' His biggest piece of advice for the current crop of high school golf standouts? 'Go somewhere where you're going to be comfortable and you're going to play -- for me, that was Rutgers,' he said. 'And it's important to not get burnt out. Do other stuff, play basketball. You don't need to act like a tour pro at 17.' Ryan McCormick: 'You're in the right spot' It's been a roller-coaster couple of years for McCormick, who lives in Florida now but spends his summers in Jersey. He earned his PGA Tour card in 2023 but took his lumps. 'It was difficult and I learned a lot and I got my butt kicked – and I played well a few weeks out of the year,' he said of the PGA Tour. 'But in our business, there is really no long-term security unless you win.' He ended up on the Korn Ferry Tour this year. 'Every time you advance in anything, but especially in golf, you play against better competition and better courses, you find out about yourself and how good your game is really, and what you need to do to get better,' he said. 'As frustrating as last year was, I learned a lot, and I'm a lot better for it now. I'm probably the best version of myself with my golf game that I've been in my life.' It all came together June 2, when McCormick punched his ticket to Oakmont by winning his U.S. Open qualifier by a whopping five strokes. McCormick is a huge Seton Hall basketball fan – his family has owned season tickets since the 1990s – and he drew an analogy that hardwood aficionados will appreciate. 'It was like Darius Lane or Jeremy Hazell,' he said, referencing former Pirate sharpshooters. 'When they get hot, you just keep feeding them. I hit it really well.' In Oakmont, he's grouped with Trevor Cone and amateur Zachary Pollo. Their tee times are 2:20 Thursday and 8:35 a.m. Friday. 'I've been trying to qualify for the U.S. Open since I was 15,' McCormick said. 'I've always watched every day. It's my favorite golf event.' Part of his typical pre-event preparation is playing a video-game version of the course on PGA Tour 2K. Anything to gain a little extra insight. 'I always try to do my research on the golf course that I'm playing,' McCormick said. 'I've been spending time looking at the past US Opens there, watching the final rounds of the last three of them. You never know what you might pick up on that might help you out there. 'I know they've changed the course, But as far as venues go, this is probably one of the top U.S. Opens you'd want play – you think of Winged Foot, Pebble Beach and Oakmont. So to qualify in a year when it's at such a historic venue is exciting.' If he does something notable this week, you may see replays of a strange clip from April, when he played a round in Georgia with tape over his mouth to control frustrated outbursts. 'It really went all over the world through all different types of news outlets,' McCormick said. 'It was an unbelievable thing that I had no idea was going to get so much attention.' McCormick said the idea was to enhance his focus. 'I've never been afraid to try anything that will help me,' he said. 'It was an exercise that I had in an old book of mine – go play with earplugs in, go play without talking, go hit some shots with a blindfold. Eliminating the senses. I took that to the extreme obviously. The feedback was out of control. But the golfers really understood, and I'm glad for the most part people found it funny.' McCormick's U.S. Open debut marks a full-circle moment for his family. His father Mark McCormick, the longtime head pro at Suburban Golf Club in Union, qualified at age 49 in 2012. It's in the blood, for sure. 'When we moved to Middletown, my dad put this small green in the backyard,' Ryan said. 'My brother (also named Mark) would sometimes practice with me and make up leaderboards for all four majors. I remember us doing the 'U.S. Open' a lot. Now I'll be on the real leaderboard and he won't have to create a fake leaderboard for me to compete on.' Dream big. That's Ryan McCormick's advice anyone growing up in the Garden State who might have a future in golf. 'I always believed in myself, but there were plenty of times as a junior and even in high school when I got my butt kicked, and I just kept working,' he said. 'Just know that between Chris and I and Max Greyserman (a Short Hills native who also qualified), it shows that if your dreams are to play on the PGA Tour, you're in the right spot. Just keep working on it.' Jerry Carino has covered the New Jersey sports scene since 1996. Contact him at jcarino@
