Signature Scroll: Jordan Spieth contends as Scottie Scheffler returns to form in Memphis

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(Still) Player of the Year?

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – When asked to survey the crowded Player of the Year landscape as the FedEx St. Jude Championship got underway, former world No. 1 Adam Scott listed off the likely contenders. There’s Matt Fitzpatrick and Chris Gotterup, each with three wins. You’ve got THE PLAYERS champ Cameron Young and U.S. Open winner Wyndham Clark, each with two trophies. Then there’s Scottie Scheffler.

“He’s won it plenty,” Scott said with a smirk, waving off the notion.

Yes, Scheffler has won the Jack Nicklaus Award each of the last four years. But in spite of a surprising lack of hardware (by his lofty standards) this season, the Texan reminded everyone in Memphis on Friday that he’ll merit ample consideration.

Scheffler blitzed TPC Southwind on a steamy afternoon, rolling in birdies on six of his first seven holes en route to a 9-under 61 that tied the course record. It’s the best round of the week by three shots and gives Scheffler a three-shot lead over Sungjae Im and Viktor Hovland heading into the weekend in search of his long-awaited second win of 2026.

“Really just a dream start,” Scheffler said. “Probably one of the best starts I’ve had on TOUR, to be honest with you. I couldn’t tell you a time where I’ve been lower early in the round.”

Scheffler boasted a nearly unstoppable combination, leading the field in both Strokes Gained: Approach and SG: Putting. His record-tying round came in spite of a pair of bogeys and featured 13 one-putts.

His play throughout the season has been very Scheffler-like, pacing the TOUR in all the statistical categories you might expect. But entering the Playoffs, the biggest moments of his season have centered around the ones that got away: a Masters rally that came up a hole or two short, getting bested by Matt Fitzpatrick and Viktor Hovland in playoffs, getting outrun by Cameron Young at Doral and Jackson Koivun in Minnesota.

That could all change this week on a course that clearly suits his game and where his career results have only gotten better, topping out with a T3 finish last year. Scheffler is already assured of holding the top spot in the FedExCup points race heading into next week’s BMW Championship, but he’s halfway to a watershed win – one that would clinch the top spot all the way into the TOUR Championship while throwing a Texas-sized monkey wrench into the Player of the Year race.

Playing through

• 📺 Catch up on Round 2. Full highlights here …
• 📊 Jake Lazarus offers more insight from Memphis on the world No. 1 playing like the world No. 1 …
• ⛳ Drinks are on Matti Schmid after the German aced the par-3 fourth hole …
• ⬆️ Bubble movement at the halfway point: Sungjae Im (53 to 36), Jordan Spieth (54 to 44, more on him below), Sudarshan Yellamaraju (57 to 49) …
• ⬇️ Bubble movement: Michael Brennan (47 to 52), Matt McCarty (48 to 53), Maverick McNealy (50 to 54) …
• 🏆 Here’s a reminder of what each player needs in order to have a chance to qualify for the BMW Championship …

The Jordan Spieth Experience

As Jordan Spieth was assessing his second shot to the par-4 ninth hole, one that began near the water’s edge and had to meander through a handful of trees, Golf Channel commentator Curt Byrum wondered aloud, “Does he have a gap up there?”

Spoiler alert: he did. But after delivering the only bogey-free scorecard of the opening round, Spieth put together a more tumultuous performance, the likes of which his fans have grown more accustomed to in recent years.

There were highlights: the recovery shot on No. 9, a chip-in birdie on No. 13 and one more circle on No. 17 to get into a tie for fifth. But there were also a few hiccups, like the water ball on No. 14 that promptly followed that chip-in and another wayward approach on No. 15 that narrowly avoided disaster.

Spieth is walking a tightrope this week in Memphis, needing every point he can salvage to make it to next week. He’s done enough at the halfway point, projected to move to No. 44 in the points race, but the margins are thin. He spent much of his back nine bouncing back and forth amid live bubble projections.

Few players know better than Spieth how the top-50 cut line can change the outlook for the following season. He has not played the BMW Championship since 2023, missing out on guaranteed spots in the Signature Events over the last two seasons. With a spot next week at Bellerive comes some added stability and some tangible proof that his game is returning toward the levels that earned him three majors early in his career.

After an opening-round 65, Spieth declared, “I know that I’m better than I’ve been in a long time.” The statistics are steady but not spectacular, as he has cracked the top 25 nine times this year but has gone 15 months and counting since his last top-10 result.

He’s in position to break that top-10 drought this weekend and, five shots back of Scheffler, still has a chance to challenge for his first win in more than four years. He’ll need to remain within arm’s length of the lead to give himself a chance to move inside the top-50 bubble.

The only certainty heading into the weekend is that, when it comes to Spieth, you can expect the scorecard to be colorful.

Parting shots

• 👑 It’ll be an all-Scandinavian battle in the group behind Scheffler, with Norway’s Viktor Hovland (T2) paired with Sweden’s Ludvig Åberg (fourth). The two shot 64 and 65, respectively, on Friday – and Hovland knows a thing or two about taking down Scheffler.
• 💦 There were 55 water balls on Friday, the most at TPC Southwind since 2023. There were 15 balls in the water on No. 12 alone, including one from Scheffler.
• 🤒 A sinus infection may have gotten the best of recent TOUR winner Michael Thorbjornsen. A day after sharing the lead with a 65 while battling his body, Thorbjornsen fired a 75 that tied for the highest score of the day.
• 🏌️ Brian Harman is knocking on the top-50 door after a bogey-free 64. The former Open champ started the week at No. 65 in points but, T5 heading into the weekend, is now projected to move to No. 51.
• ⭕ 🟥 Circles and squares: Scheffler became the first player to shoot 61 or lower on TOUR with at least two bogeys on the card since Justin Rose in the final round of the 2022 RBC Canadian Open.
• 👈 It was an early exit for Robert MacIntyre, who withdrew after an opening-round 82. MacIntyre will still make the BMW Championship, but he is now projected to fall to No. 35 in points – meaning there’s work to be done to make it to East Lake.