Portrush, Northern Ireland. Scottie Scheffler delivered a clear statement after round one of the 2025 Open Championship at Royal Portrush. The Texan finished with a remarkable three-under-par score of 68 after finding only 3 of 14 fairways.

No misprint there.

Managing such a score given the lack of finding fairway grass was nothing short of a comparison with the famed escape artists Houdini.

The number-one-ranked player in the sport was able to adjust to the constant irritants of rain and wind and managed his game to a level that few people could have delivered. Scheffler’s 68 score has him just one shot behind a total of five golfers who sit atop the leaderboard in the final major event for 2025.

“When it’s raining sideways, it’s actually, believe it or not, not that easy to get the ball in the fairway,” Scheffler said sarcastically. “I felt like I hit the ball nice off the tee, and really only had one swing I wasn’t too happy with — on maybe the second hole. But outside of that, I felt like I hit a lot of good tee shots, hit the ball really solid, so definitely a good bit of confidence for the next couple rounds.”

Even with a wayward driver — Scheffler’s approach play was his calling card for success — +3.27 strokes gained. But the key to his ability to reach red figures was a flatstick that produced time after time when called upon as compared to last week’s Scottish Open when he lost 1.45 strokes even with a top ten placement there at Renaissance.

At Royal Portrush the turn around was significant — a +2.26 strokes gained on the greens.

Scheffler played in the morning wave of players and the weather was a constant issue but even with the personal discomfort the mental zone for Scheffler remained resolute in seeing matters through.

Two quick birdies came at the 3rd and 7th holes. Offset with bogies at the 9th and 11th because of poor tee shots.

Consecutive birdies at 16 and 17 happened with quality approaches before concluding the round with a par-4 at the 18th.

Consistency has been Scheffler’s hallmark. In his last ten tournaments since The Players Championship, he has finished in the top ten in all of them. Three wins happened in a span of four tournaments – including his 3rd major win at the PGA Championship.

However, to capture the elusive Claret Jug it is clear Scheffler will need to find more fairways because links golf will not tolerate such wayward driving indefinitely. Round two for Scheffler will be a late day start — 3:10 pm with playing partners Shane Lowry (70) and Collin Morikawa (75).

Related: Behind the Architectural Curtain – Royal Portrush (Dunluce)

2025 Open Championship.

For the latest news in the golfing world, follow us on X.