Scottie Scheffler’s opening round at the 2026 Genesis Invitational has shocked the entire golf industry. The World No. 1, who has been in amazing form since the start of the 2026 season, is in the bottom ten of the leaderboard following Round 1 at the Riviera Golf Club. Scheffler had a disastrous round, as during the front nine holes, he shot two bogeys (on holes 2 and 6), as well as a double bogey (on hole 8).
Following that, he began the back nine holes with another bogey on hole 10, prompting the game to be halted due to darkness. When the game resumed on Friday, Scheffler was able to regain some ground by birdieing holes 13 and 14, respectively. He finished with a total score of 3 over par, tied for 64th place, making this one of his poorest opening rounds.
Jason Sobel recently commented on Scottie Scheffler’s performance this round, noting that it is rather shocking given his previous records. Scheffler has had the best opening round average over the last few years. He posted an X post about this that read,
“What’s so strange about these recent Scottie Scheffler first-round struggles is that he was the PGA Tour’s Round 1 scoring average leader last season… and the season before that… and the season before that, too.”
Scottie Scheffler is on the edge of being pushed out of the cut based on his current position, as he is 9 shots behind the leader and only has a slim chance to take part in the weekend game. While the start has been rocky, the golfer has the potential to make a great comeback, as he managed a similar kind of comeback during the 2026 WM Phoenix Open.
What type of comeback did Scottie Scheffler make at the 2026 WM Phoenix Open?
During the first round of the WM Phoenix Open, Scottie Scheffler’s play totally deviated from the track. The golfer shot 5 birdies, 5 bogeys, and 1 massive double bogey to finish 2 over par. This was a huge battle for him, but he made a fantastic return, shooting -6, -4, and -7 in the next three rounds to finish with a total score of 15 under par, equal for third place.
Scheffler addressed the comeback in a news conference following the competition’s final round, claiming that he felt comfortable about setting himself aggressively in the tournament but later delivering a respectable performance. As quoted by ASAP Sports, he stated:
“Yeah, it was good. I put myself in a tough position after the first round, but three really solid days. Today was another really good round. I’m going to fall a few shots short, it looks like, but overall proud of the fight this week and did some good stuff.”
Scheffler’s fans hope he makes a similar comeback in Round 2, as he will kick off the round at 12:33 PM ET opposite Xander Schauffele and Si Woo Kim.
College Sports Network has you covered with the latest news, analysis, insights, and trending stories in football, basketball, hockey, golf, baseball, and more!