(Reuters) – Scottie Scheffler will make his first individual start since his major breakthrough at the Masters and, after a whirlwind month, the Texan said on Wednesday he is excited that he can enjoy the comforts of home while competing in the AT&T Byron Nelson.
Scheffler, whose only start since his three-shot victory at the Masters came in the Zurich Classic team event, feels the chance to sleep in his own bed could even give him a bit of an edge in the final tune-up ahead of next week’s PGA Championship.
“I would say rest is something I didn’t value as much as I do now,” Scheffler, 25, told reporters at TPC Craig Ranch in McKinney, Texas.
“Having some events close to home and especially one where can I stay in my own bed is such an advantage, I don’t really feel like I’m traveling and playing this week. It’s good to be at home.”
The Dallas native, who as Masters champion has since made the rounds at a number of sporting events, is the tournament favourite at TPC Craig Ranch where he will attempt to win for the fifth time in an eight-start stretch.
While Scheffler would love to add title to his collection this week he will for sure be doing all he can ensure his game is where it needs to be next week when the year’s second major is contested at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Scheffler took a scouting trip to Southern Hills last week to get a feel for a layout that has been restored by golf course architect Gil Hanse and walked away feeling comfortable going into the major.
“It looked pretty similar to what it did before, a lot of sight lines off the tee were still very familiar to me,” said Scheffler.
“I wouldn’t say Gill made a ton of change, definitely cleared out a lot of trees, but other than that most of the green complexes are pretty similar to what they were before and there wasn’t too many huge changes, but it was really nice to go up there and see the golf course again.”
Scheffler, whose best AT&T Byron Nelson result came in 2014 when he finished in a share of 22nd, will play the opening two rounds this week alongside fellow Texan Jordan Spieth and defending champion K.H. Lee of South Korea.
(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
