Scottie Scheffler has had a relatively pedestrian start to the 2025 PGA TOUR season. By his incredible standards, it’s almost surprising that he hasn’t won yet, although a pair of Top-10 finishes and a T-11 in five starts (five made cuts) is certainly nothing to complain about.
The Masters Tournament — which Scheffler has won in two of the past three seasons — is coming up in just two weeks, and some of the top pros typically use this weekend’s Texas Children’s Houston Open as a warm-up to gauge where their game is. If his second round today is any indication, the +350 odds that he has to win his third green jacket might be too long.
Only two players had ever shot an eight-under 62 in a PGA TOUR event at Memorial Park Golf Course entering today, which technically didn’t change even after Scheffler’s historic second round.
Teeing off on the 10th, Scheffler opened his round with two birdies and tacked on two more on 16 and 17 to make the turn at four-under 31. Then, on the front, he added birdies at the par-three 2nd, the par-four 5th, the par-three 7th, and the par-five 8th. He even left a few strokes out there, given that he parred the par-five 3rd hole despite making birdie yesterday.
Of course, the course record that Scheffler tied was one that he set himself in 2021, which was matched by Tony Finau in 2022 and again last season. Coincidentally, all four 62’s at the Houston Open have been shot during the second round.
The most impressive part about Scheffler’s historic round was his brilliance with the flat stick. Among the players who have finished their second rounds, Scheffler’s performance ranked second in Strokes Gained: Putting, the only statistic in which he hasn’t ranked among the PGA TOUR’s top quartile this season. He has ranked above the median in Strokes Gained: Putting twice in his career. In both seasons, he won The Masters.
With the morning tee times complete, Scheffler has a one-stroke lead over Canadian Taylor Pendrith and is a -125 favorite to ultimately win the tournament. Given the inclement weather and the fact that no player still on the course is within five shots of Scheffler, he has -550 odds to hold his first 36-hole lead of the season.
