Hero World Challenge Round 1: Scottie Scheffler Shakes Off the Rust in a Five-Way Tie

Two months away from competition and Scottie Scheffler still found his way to the top of a leaderboard on the first day back. He just had to share it with four other people, and with a late bogey that ended a 41-hole bogey-free run at Albany.

Scheffler shot 6-under 66 at Albany on Thursday to tie for the first-round lead at the Hero World Challenge with Akshay Bhatia, Wyndham Clark, J.J. Spaun and Sepp Straka. Keegan Bradley and Corey Conners are one back after 67s. Hideki Matsuyama, Justin Rose and Andrew Novak opened with 68s. On a warm, breezy afternoon in the Bahamas, all but four players in the 20-man field broke par.

Rust, Sort Of

Scheffler arrived as the two-time defending champion chasing something nobody has done here, a third straight title. He had not played since winning the Procore Championship in September, his sixth win of a season that included two majors, and he put a new driver in the bag for the week. It behaved. Scheffler hit 11 of 13 fairways and 15 of 18 greens, per CBS Sports.

The scoring came in bunches. Scheffler holed a birdie putt of about 30 feet at No. 2, made the turn at 4 under, then ran off birdies at 13, 14 and 15 to get to 7 under. At the 18th, a chip ran across and over the green, and the bogey that followed was his first dropped shot at Albany in 41 holes, dating back to last year's event.

"I did some good stuff," Scheffler said. "I felt like I could have shot a good amount lower." He conceded there is always a bit of rust, then added that once competition starts, he does not really think about it.

Two Eagles From the Same Bunker

The most entertaining hole of the day was the reachable par-4 seventh. Bhatia and Clark both holed bunker shots there for eagle, according to the AP.

Bhatia's card was the cleanest of the five leaders. The left-hander hit the tournament's opening tee shot, birdied the first hole, made the eagle at 7 to get to 3 under and added birdies at 14, 15 and 18 for a bogey-free 66. Bhatia is working with a new caddie this week, Joe Greiner, who previously carried for Max Homa and briefly for Collin Morikawa. The two grew up in the same California town, which Bhatia called really cool.

Clark's 66 meant something different. The 2023 U.S. Open champion is coming off a down 2025, with seven top-20s and two top-fives in 25 starts, per CBS Sports, and has been working with a new swing coach, Pat Coyner. Clark said the year had been poor and the work had been hard. Clark got to 7 under before a poor tee shot led to a bogey at the par-5 15th.

The Quiet Two

Straka also went bogey-free, a strong return for a player who had not competed since the Ryder Cup ended in late September. Straka has a track record here, too. This is the fourth Hero start for the Austrian, who finished second only to Scheffler in 2023 and has never finished in the bottom half of this field, according to the tournament.

Spaun, the reigning U.S. Open champion, is making his Hero debut, and there is a nice full-circle story in that. The Los Angeles native went to this event as a kid when it was held at Sherwood Country Club in Thousand Oaks, California. Spaun also touched 7 under before a fairway bunker at the 18th led to a closing bogey.

Chasers and Strugglers

Bradley, the U.S. Ryder Cup captain, and Conners sit one back at 5 under. Matsuyama, who opened the PGA TOUR season with a record-setting win at The Sentry, is two back with Rose and Novak. Alex Noren is three back after a 69.

Jordan Spieth had the most frustrating day of the group. In his first start since the FedEx St. Jude Championship in August, Spieth was 3 under through seven holes and played the last 11 in 3 over to post an even-par 72. The AP noted Spieth struggled with his chipping and at times his putting, and CBS Sports had him ranked second-to-last in the field in putting for the day.

Chris Gotterup brought up the rear with a 74, and Robert MacIntyre shot 73.

The Host on the Sidelines

The tournament host will not be hitting a shot this week. Tiger Woods is hosting at Albany but is not in the field, roughly six weeks removed from a lumbar disc replacement, the seventh back surgery of his career. Woods said earlier in the week that recovery is not as fast as he would like, and that he has been cleared to chip, putt and lift weights.

Three Rounds to Go

This is an unofficial, 20-player, no-cut event, and a five-way tie at the top means nobody has much of anything yet. Scheffler's numbers say the game traveled well after the break. Bhatia and Straka did not make a bogey. Spaun and Clark each let a 7-under round slip by a shot. With 54 holes left on a course that gives up birdies on the par 5s, Friday should be a scramble. Full scoring is on the official PGA TOUR tournament page (opens in a new tab), and the TOUR's Round 1 recap (opens in a new tab) has more.

Sources: PGA TOUR (Round 1 recap, leaderboard), AP, CBS Sports, Hero World Challenge, RTÉ, The Spokesman-Review. More golf coverage on Undrafted.

Photo: PGA TOUR.