Scottie Scheffler during a practice round ahead of the 2024 PGA Championship. | Photo by Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images
Scottie Scheffler opened the PGA Championship with a bang, which produced some incredible fan reactions.
Speechless.
That is how Scottie Scheffler left the golf world after playing his first hole at the PGA Championship on Thursday.
After finding the fairway off the tee, Scheffler had 170 yards left on Valhalla’s opening par-4 1st hole. He pulled out his 9-iron for his second shot and, unsurprisingly, hit a gorgeous shot that painted the flag stick. His ball bounced once a couple of inches in front of the hole and then dropped in for an eagle-two.
Not a bad start.
It also marked his first hole as a father, as he and his wife Meredith welcomed a baby boy, Bennett, into the world last week.
Consequently, many fans and journalists alike played into Scheffler playing in his first tournament as a dad:
I’ve spent *16 months* using fatherhood as an excuse for bad golf and Scottie didn’t even need the excuse for one hole.
— Kevin Clark (@bykevinclark) May 16, 2024
Scottie Scheffler the father apparently has now become even more powerful than before.
— Riggs (@RiggsBarstool) May 16, 2024
And then, of course, some could not get over the absurdity that is Scheffler’s current form:
Just a quick reminder how much better Scottie is than everyone else
— Patrick McDonald (@pmcdonaldCBS) May 16, 2024
Lololololol Scottie
— Shane Bacon (@shanebacon) May 16, 2024
Scottie holing out for eagle on his first approach since paternity leave is the most unfair golf shot I’ve ever seen
— Sean Zak (@Sean_Zak) May 16, 2024
Scheffler, who has won four tournaments over his last five starts, including The Players Championship and The Masters, arrived at Valhalla as the pre-tournament favorite. As such, he has rightfully received comparisons to Tiger Woods.
But nobody could have envisioned this ludicrous start to the PGA Championship.
This guy is absurd
What a talent
— Aaron Spratt⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (@AaronSpratt20) May 16, 2024
I mean are u kidding me
— Tom Izzobro (@TomIzzoBro) May 16, 2024
They should probably just cancel rest of the tournament.
— RLD Jr (@rldesmondjr) May 16, 2024
Jim Nantz with another iconic call, “HELLO, DAD!”
— fedora the explorer (@carellijawn) May 16, 2024
Before Scheffler’s magic moment at the first, Xander Schauffele set a PGA Championship record with a masterful, bogey-free 9-under 62.
But maybe that record is already in jeopardy thanks to Scheffler’s hot start:
Schauffle: I shot 9 under today
Scheffler: Hold my beer
— Queens Fort (@Bellyhungry) May 16, 2024
He’s seen Schauffele’s 62 and is gonna go out there and shoot 61
— Colin (@colinjohnlester) May 16, 2024
What do you make of Scheffler’s incredible shot? Let us know in the comments below.
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.
