Scottie Scheffler has yet to record a victory during this 2025 PGA Tour season, but that sentence seemingly won't hold up for much longer, as the world No. 1 has torched TPC Craig Ranch through the first two rounds of The CJ Cup Byron Nelson.
After missing his hometown event a season ago due to the birth of his son, Scheffler got off to a blistering start to kick off his week, carding eight birdies and an eagle en route to an opening-round 61, falling just one shot shy of tying the course record.
The 28-year-old wasn't quite as sharp on Friday morning, opening his second round with eight consecutive pars before making an eagle at the par-5 18th just before inclement weather suspended play for more than six hours.
The delay didn't affect Scheffler in the slightest, as he carried the momentum from that eagle into his second nine, making six birdies to finish with an 8-under 63, thus putting him at 18-under for the week and giving him a six-shot lead heading into the final 36 holes.
As nearly half the field failed to finish on Friday—some didn't even start their second rounds until early Saturday morning—Scheffler also has the benefit of being well-rested. As such, he's in a great position to take a run at the all-time PGA Tour scoring record.
Scottie Scheffler is on pace to shoot the lowest 72-hole score in PGA Tour history
Not only is Scheffler's 124-stroke total the lowest halfway score of his career, besting the 127 he shot in the first two rounds of the 2019 Military Tribute at The Greenbrier, it's also the second-lowest 36-hole score in PGA Tour history.
Only Justin Thomas has gone lower in terms of total strokes, amassing just 123 at the 2017 Sony Open in Hawaii with rounds of 59 and 64. It should be noted, however, that since Waialae Country Club plays to a par of 70, JT was sitting at 17-under at the midway point.
As mentioned, Scheffler headed into his third round at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson at 18-under. And if he can somehow find a way to duplicate that total over the final two rounds, he'll set the new 72-hole scoring record in relation to par at 36-under.
The mark currently belongs to Hideki Matsuyama, who shot 35-under a few months back at the season-opening Sentry at the Plantation Course at Kapalua. In fact, Kapalua has yielded the six lowest 72-hole scores in PGA Tour history.
- Hideki Matsuyama (-35, 2025)
- Cameron Smith (-34, 2022)
- Jon Rahm (-33, 2022)
- Collin Morikawa (-32, 2025)
- Matt Jones (-32, 2022)
- Ernie Els (-31, 2003)
It'll obviously take a lot for Scheffler to surpass Matsuyama, but it won't take nearly as much for him to break the 72-hole scoring record at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson, which currently belongs to K.H. Lee, who shot 26-under to take his second straight victory at this event just three years ago.