Scottie Scheffler has won the Arnold Palmer Invitational and The Players this month on the PGA Tour; world No 1 looking for third consecutive win ahead of The Masters; watch the Houston Open live from Thursday on Sky Sports Golf
Thursday 28 March 2024 06:00, UK
Scottie Scheffler insists preparing for The Masters is the focus at this week's Texas Children's Houston Open, despite having the opportunity to extend his PGA Tour winning streak.
The world No 1 has claimed eight PGA Tour titles in just over two years, having followed a dominant five-shot win at the Arnold Palmer Invitational by overcoming injury to successfully defend his title at The Players the following week.
Scheffler arrives as the overwhelming favourite at Memorial Park Golf Course, where victory would see him become the first player since Dustin Johnson in 2017 to win three consecutive PGA Tour events.
"I don't really think much about that kind of stuff [records]," Scheffler said. "I was pretty worn out after Bay Hill [Arnold Palmer Invitational] and The Players, so it was nice to get home and just relax.
"I didn't do nearly as much practice as I typically would have in the last week, so coming in shaking off a little bit of rust the last couple days. But game feels like it's in a good spot, so I feel rested and ready to go this week."
Scheffler's appearance is his last scheduled start ahead of The Masters, live from April 11-14 on Sky Sports, where the American looks to win the Green Jacket for the second time in three years.
"I've done it [pre-major schedule] different ways in the past," Scheffler added. "Some years I played before Augusta. The year I won Augusta I did not play going into it.
"As far as this year goes, I'm scheduled to not play next week so I have a week off before the major, but some of the other majors I'm playing the week before.
"It just depends, I think I'm still figuring out what works best for me. The only thing I know that I don't like is taking a long break before a major. With the way the schedule was this year, three weeks off before playing The Masters would have been a bit too much time for me.
"I'm excited to play this golf course, excited for the week. Really pleasantly surprised with how good a shape the golf course is in, so I think it's going to be really fun to play and I think it will be good prep to see how my game is going into The Masters."
Scheffler's toughest challenge in Houston is likely to come from US Open champion Wyndham Clark, who has finished runner-up in his last two starts but has been struggling with a back injury ahead of the event.
Clark finished second to Scheffler at both the Arnold Palmer Invitational and The Players, where he agonisingly missed out on a play-off when his final-hole putt lipped out, with the world No 4 looking forward to more clashes with his Ryder Cup team-mate over the coming months.
"I would love for us to be battling it out every week because Scottie is the No 1 player in the world," Clark said. "He's a great person. Scottie and I are friends, I really enjoy him. He's the meter right now of us trying to get to be as good as he is.
"He hits it better than everyone else and now he's starting to putt good. It's amazing to watch him play and see what he can do. He's pushed me to get better.
"As far as rivalry, we don't have one, but it would be fun if every week we were battling it out. I win one week, he wins the other week? I would take that right now, that would be pretty awesome!"
Watch the Texas Children's Houston Open all live on Sky Sports. Early coverage begins on Thursday from 12.30pm on Sky Sports Golf, ahead of full coverage from 8pm. The Masters is then exclusively live from April 11-14 exclusively on Sky Sports. Stream the PGA Tour, DP World Tour, majors and more with NOW.
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