Scottie Scheffler entered the 2024 Hero World Challenge hoping to defend his title and add yet another feather to his already glorious hat. After the opening round, he was tied for T3. But after the second round, he is once again back to where he belongs. The #1 opened the round with a birdie and carded 7 more to have a bogey-free round. His 7 out of 8 birdies came on the first nine.

As a result, his front nine score was an impressive 7-under. Scheffler’s rise to the top of the leaderboard left Justin Thomas tied for T2 with Akshay Bhatia. While JT is still two strokes away from Scheffler, as it turns out, he is left unimpressed with the 2x Masters winner’s performance.

At the post-round presser on Friday, Justin Thomas was asked about Scottie Scheffler’s birdie-heavy gameplay at Albany. To that, he said, “Out here it’s so doable, you literally can birdie every hole as soft as the greens are.” 

Scottie Scheffler ranks No. 1 on the Birdie Average list with a field average of 4.88, so, Justin Thomas was expecting him to have a better score. “ I mean, he’s a great — obviously a great player but a great wedge player and you have a lot of birdie holes to start. I’m honestly surprised he only shot 8 under, I would expect him — not that it was a lack of effort to keep the pedal kind of down, but it’s a sneaky course because if you fall asleep on some shots, you can get out of position,” he added.

JT’s analysis shows that Albany can be a tough nut to crack, but at the same time, it can allow the golfer to have smooth gameplay. It all depends on how much in control you are of your shots.  The 2024 Hero World Challenge was uninterrupted, and the weather was pretty pleasant at Albany, leaving the players with no distractions.

Taking to this, JT also said, “But if you’re on and focused and really in control of everything, like these last two days with no wind, you can just make so many birdies. It wasn’t a big surprise to me at all.”

Thomas comes to Albany prepared and with resilience. It has been 2 years since he has lifted a trophy, and Hero World Challenge, an event that is offering $1 million to the winner this year, has been one of his friends in the last couple of years. “I feel like I’ve kind of been getting closer and closer. I feel like it was a big reason I wanted to play this week; I feel like it was one last opportunity to try to win a tournament this year,” said JT before his play.

Despite his winless streak, Thomas is confident and thinks his not winning keeps coming into question because fans think he still has it in himself. I know that I hold myself to higher expectations, and I feel like I’ve proven over the last, like you said, whatever it was, six, seven seasons before that, that I was plenty good enough and am plenty good enough to do that,” added Justin Thomas.

While Justin Thomas thinks Scheffler could have performed better, the World No. 1 is trying out something new.

Scottie Scheffler on the greens with his new grip

Scottie Scheffler has adopted a new putting grip, using the claw grip technique for putts inside 15 feet. So far, he’s been pleased with the results, telling Rex Hoggard of the Golf Channel that he feels comfortable with the grip after 36 holes. He emphasized that he’s been able to start each putt on his intended line, which, for any golfer, is the key to success. As for the rest of his game, Scheffler continues to dominate tee to green.

Scheffler is ranked first in strokes gained approach among the 20-man field, which explains his strong performance from the start. His wedge play is exceptional, and he can execute any shot with precision. “I was hitting it close to the hole and I was knocking in the putts, so I’m not going to think too much about what I’m doing out there,” Scheffler assessed.“I’m just going to try to continue to do it as best as I can.”

Having won seven titles and an Olympic Gold medal this year, Scottie Scheffler’s quest has not ended so far, and he wants to end the year with another bang. Having won at this course before, he knows it well. “I think a lot of it’s keeping the ball in play. Around the greens, it can get challenging,” Scheffler said. He believes he could have taken more advantage when he was hot during the front nine. Nonetheless, he has had a good start.

Do you think he will be able to grab the eighth victory of the season? Or will it be Justin Thomas breaking his almost 2-year long winless streak? Stay tuned to find out!