Scheffler: Close Contender

Scottie Scheffler opened the 2026 Masters with a 2-under 70, and that left him tied for sixth after Thursday even though he played the tougher side of the draw in Augusta’s late-afternoon conditions. Rory McIlroy and Sam Burns set the pace at 5-under 67, so Scheffler starts Round 2 three shots back, not chasing from far away. (golfchannel.com) His round looked like a charge early and a survival test late. Scheffler eagled the par-5 second, birdied the par-4 third, then played his last 15 holes in even par with 14 pars and one bogey at the 11th as the course kept getting faster. (golfchannel.com) That split matters because Augusta National did not play the same for the morning and afternoon waves on Thursday. Golf Channel noted that five of the six names at the top of the board finished before 4 p.m. local time, and by 6:30 p.m. only 18 players in the whole field were 1-under or better. (golfchannel.com) This year’s Masters is being played on a dry forecast that could make it Augusta National’s first completely rain-free tournament since 2011. That kind of weather turns the course into a runway on tee shots and a sheet of glass on approaches, which rewards players who can launch the ball long and still land it in the right part of the fairway. (sports.yahoo.com) (golfweek.usatoday.com) Scheffler fits that profile about as well as anyone in golf. He arrived at Augusta as the No. 1 player in the Official World Golf Ranking, and the PGA Tour’s season-long stats page lists him third in scoring average and first in birdie average entering Masters week. (espn.com) (pgatour.com) He also came in with a 2026 season that already had one win and three other top-12 finishes in six starts. Scheffler won The American Express in January for his 20th PGA Tour title, then finished third at the Phoenix Open, fourth at Pebble Beach, and 12th at the Genesis Invitational before a quieter stretch in March. (owgr.com) (cbssports.com) Augusta history says three shots is not a scary gap on Thursday, especially for a player who already owns two green jackets. Scheffler is not trying to invent a comeback; he is trying to stay within one clean round of the lead on a course where one hot nine holes can flip the board. (youtube.com) (golfchannel.com) The other detail is timing. Scheffler’s Thursday tee time was 1:44 p.m. Eastern time with Robert MacIntyre and Gary Woodland, so his 70 came after the course had already started drying out, and if Augusta stays firm through the weekend, that kind of controlled afternoon round may age well. (golfchannel.com) (golfweek.usatoday.com) So the story after one round is not that Scheffler got buried. The story is that the player built for a fast Augusta is still close, the leaders are only at 5-under, and the course looks ready to punish anything loose for the next 54 holes. (golfchannel.com) (golfdigest.com)