By Will Martin
We might in fact see a deja vu of 2010, maybe we won’t. However if Friday afternoon was any indication of what’s to be this weekend at the 2014 Byron Nelson then North Texans are in for a treat. Through two rounds of play, one golfer was atop the leaderboard at -8. His name is Brendon Todd. Not to be confused with FOX 4 TV correspondent Brandon Todd. Sounds like one heck of a law firm, huh?
With a cluster of players sitting at -6 and a whole slew of players who made the cut line of +1 or better, one name you can add to the list May 17th and 18th will be Highland Park’s Scott Scheffler. The 17-year old kid who shot a -2 this day to enter the weekend seven shots back. The pressure and the experience will be special. That… and that proceeding of proud Scots who will follow Scheffler on each hole.
Scott Scheffler addressed the media post match. Here’s what he had to share.
Scottie, how exciting for you. Not only do you get in, you played well. You’ve qualified for the weekend.
It feels pretty good now. It was rough toward the end but I finished well.
What were your expectations coming into this event?
I wanted to try to get into the Top Ten so now I got a chance to do that.
Quite a thrill for you to make that birdie on 17.
Yeah, I needed that putt to go in. I just bogeyed 15 and 16 so I needed something to go my way.
You had 25 putts.
I only hit five fairways so I had to do something to keep my round in check.
You had great support out there. In fact, I think if there was a truant officer from Highland Park, he would find a bunch of your classmates out here.
He would, but apparently they all had family issues today and came out to watch.
Is that it? “Family Issues”? Maybe a sudden flu epidemic with the Scots?
Uh-huh, that’s how you get out of it, I guess.
Your sister on the bag, how is that working out?
Working out pretty well. She has been helpful. She’s usually pretty helpful and that hasn’t changed much.
Four years ago, Jordan Spieth was here and we were wondering if he was going to be able to make the high school prom that night. That’s not a factor for you?
No, we already had prom. Good to go.
Talk about your round, how it went. What was working well?
I started off pretty well. I was 4 under through 7. I had a chip-in. My putter felt good so that was helpful and I wasn’t hitting the ball good but my short game felt solid, so I was able to keep my round going in the right direction.
Feel comfortable out there?
Yeah, felt more comfortable today than I did yesterday, so that’s good.
You hit five fairways you said?
Only five fairways.
Off on the driver?
They were going all over the place. I think that’s why I finally started playing bad toward the end. I was just kind of came off a little bit at the end.
Talk about playing this weekend?
Yeah, it should be pretty fun. Never played the weekend before and maybe I’ll be less comfortable out there. I’m not really sure but should be fun.
You were 7 under through a 12 hole stretch during the first two rounds. What was going good for you?
My putter was working well. It hasn’t quite left me throughout the tournament, but I was really putting well and I hit some good shots, too.
The chip-in on 3 looked good all the way. Did you have a good feeling about it?
I had a good line on it. It was just about getting it the right distance. I left myself in a good spot.
That’s a bonus on that hole?
Yeah, it is, especially where I hit my drive, it could have been a tough hole for me.
Scottie, what do you think you’ve proven to yourself these first two days?
I think I’ve proven a lot, because I really haven’t been hitting fairways, which was my goal, and just keep the ball in play, see what I could do. But I haven’t been doing that, and I still played pretty decent so that gives me a lot of confidence.
Did you sleep better last night than the night before?
I actually slept well both nights. I was worn out last night when I got home, and Thursday I got to sleep in. It wasn’t too bad.
How about dealing with this stuff, the media stuff?
This is new for me . I’m used to one recorder not–how many out here, six or seven? It’s different.
I was watching you on Number 7, looked like you were watching the scoreboard.
Yeah, I was playing pretty well and I’ve been looking at the scoreboard anyways but I wanted to see how far I climbed up the leaderboard.
Doesn’t shock you at all that you were going to be in the Top 10? You said you wanted to to finish there.
Yeah, I wanted to finish there, and I lost some, so I’ve got to gain some back, but built up some momentum there.
Do you feel like you belong out there?
Yeah, feeling more comfortable. Definitely more comfortable today than yesterday.
Thursday I also had a momentary video visit with the 17 year old phenom. Here’s how that went.
Scottie, you’re halfway home! Enjoy the weekend and good luck channeling your inner Jordan Spieth circa 2010 at the Byron! Is it mere coincidence that William Shatner is also in town for a ComicCon convention?