Scottie Scheffler made seven birdies and bogeyed his final hole for a 5-under 66 and a share of the five-way tie for the lead at the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas.
The two-time defending champion has held at least a share of the lead after six of his last eight rounds of the Hero World Challenge and seeks to become the first player to win the event in three consecutive years.
The World Number 1 is making his first start on the PGA Tour since winning the Procore Championship in September for his 19th career victory and sixth of the season.
“I felt pretty good I think there’s always going to be some rust in there, but I don’t really think about that when I’m out there playing, I’m just trying to shoot a score,” said Scheffler.
Akshay Bhatia made four birdies and an eagle at the par-4 7th to close with a bogey-free round and a share of the lead.
Austrian Sepp Straka, the only non-American in the top-5, closed with a bogey-free round to join the tie at the top. He was 5 for 5 in Scrambling after hitting 13 of 18 Greens in Regulation in the first round.
“It was overall really good,” said Straka. “Nice to get back in competition, I haven’t played in a while. Driver was a little bit erratic out there at times, but got a few breaks off the tee, and iron game and putting was pretty good. Chipping was really good today too, so nice to kind of post a good score.”
Wyndham Clark eagled the par-4 7th and made two bogeys for his 66, his first opening-round score of 66 or better on Tour since the 2025 Genesis Scottish Open (66/finishedT11).
Finally, J.J. Spaun made a bogey at the 18th to join the top spot. He is the second-highest ranked player in the field at No. 6 in the Official World Golf Ranking.
The Hero World Challenge, an unofficial PGA Tour event played annually following the FedExCup Fall, is being played in the Bahamas for the 10th consecutive time, and 26th edition overall.
Eligible players for the Hero World Challenge are as follows:
• Defending champion of the Hero World Challenge
• Current year winners of The Players Championship, Masters Tournament, PGA Championship, US Open and The Open Championship
• Three sponsor exemptions restricted to players ranked among the top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking as of Monday, Aug. 25
• To complete the field of 20 players, the top available players from the Official World Golf Ranking as of Monday Aug. 25
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| Pos. | Player | To Par | R1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| T1 | Akshay Bhatia | -6 | 66 |
| T1 | Sepp Straka | -6 | 66 |
| T1 | Wyndham Clark | -6 | 66 |
| T1 | J.J. Spaun | -6 | 66 |
| T1 | Scottie Scheffler | -6 | 66 |
| T6 | Corey Conners | -5 | 67 |
| T6 | Keegan Bradley | -5 | 67 |
| T8 | Andrew Novak | -4 | 68 |
| T8 | Hideki Matsuyama | -4 | 68 |
| T8 | Justin Rose | -4 | 68 |
| 11 | Alex Noren | -3 | 69 |
| T12 | Harris English | -2 | 70 |
| T12 | Cameron Young | -2 | 70 |
| T14 | Aaron Rai | -1 | 71 |
| T14 | Billy Horschel | -1 | 71 |
| T14 | Sam Burns | -1 | 71 |
| T17 | Brian Harman | Par | 72 |
| T17 | Jordan Spieth | Par | 72 |
| 19 | Robert MacIntyre | +1 | 73 |
| 20 | Chris Gotterup | +2 | 74 |
