Scottie Scheffler picks up where he left off, makes 9 birdies in flawless 63

Imagine that, Scottie Scheffler’s name is at the top of a leaderboard.

Coming off a six-win season that included two majors, the World No. 1 said earlier in the week that he doesn’t come to tournaments seeking to shake off rust, he comes prepared to win. Diligent practice at home is what prevents rust from accumulating.

Playing in his first competitive round of the year, the reigning PGA Tour Player of the Year birdied five of the first six holes Thursday at La Quinta (Calif.) Country Club, one of the easier tracks at The American Express. He made another birdie on the eighth hole to turn in 30 and made three more on the back to end at nine-under 63 with nine birdies and no bogeys.

Min Woo Lee and Pierceson Coody both shot 62 at the Nicklaus Tournament Course. Eight others tied Scheffler at 63, including Jason Day and Patrick Cantlay.

“I got off to a good start today I was really sharp on the front nine. Made some nice putts. Hit some good iron shots. A lot of good tee balls,” he said. “I wasn't as sharp as I hoped to be on the back nine, but I scrambled pretty well and I was able to post a good score.”

Scheffler actually struggled to find fairways during the first round, hitting only five of 14. But he was typically robotic on approach shots finding 17 of 18 greens. He made birdie on the one hole where he missed the green.

He’ll now move to the Nicklaus Tournament Course on Friday because playing the final two rounds on the Stadium Course.

“You got to keep pace out here,” Scheffler said. “I think the hardest part about these tests where you have to shoot so low is you can only shoot so many under par in a round of golf. I think, when you look at the harder tests there's always a couple guys each round that are able to shoot something really low. The easier tests, where the scores are crazy low, if you start falling behind it's a lot harder to keep up, so you have to keep pace out here.”