McKinney — PGA golfer and Dallas resident Scottie Scheffler gets to stay close to home this week as he plays in the AT&T Byron Nelson at TPC Craig Ranch.
Scheffler made his pro debut as a 17-year-old at the Byron Nelson in 2014 and is playing for his fifth time in the tournament.
“Always good to be back here at the Nelson,” Scheffler said as he met with the media after Wednesday morning’s pro-am. “I’ve got special memories playing this tournament. Definitely excited to be back.”
In the 2014 tournament, Scheffler shot a -4 for the weekend, finishing in a tie for 22nd in his pro debut.
Scheffler went on to have a decorated collegiate career at the University of Texas, earning many Big 12 and national honors, and he returned to the PGA Tour in 2020.
Scheffler’s golf career has taken off since returning to the Tour, winning six tournaments and making the cut in 81 of the 100 tournaments he has played while rising to second in the world rankings.
“I feel like I’m a little bit more a part of these things than I was then, but I was just fortunate to get a spot and come out and play,” Scheffler told reporters Wednesday. “Now I guess coming full circle out here is a little different scenario, and it’s a lot of fun being able to play in front of the home crowd.”
“Now that I’ve had some success out here on Tour, there’s a lot more people that will show up to watch me, which is great,” he added. “I’m fortunate to be able to come out here and support an event that supported me from a young age, and I’m looking forward to going out there and playing in front of the home crowd and hopefully making some birdies.”
Despite all his recent success on the Tour, which includes winning the 2022 Masters, Scheffler has not fared well at the Byron Nelson, with his best finish coming last year when he placed 15th.
“It would certainly be a lot of fun, that’s for sure,” he acknowledged when asked about the possibility of winning on his home course. “Like I said earlier, this tournament is special to me — getting to play in high school. I have very special memories of this tournament.”
The Byron Nelson will also be Scheffler’s first tournament in about a month. He last played in the RBC Heritage tournament in mid-April and tied for 11th.
“I planned my schedule at the beginning of the year,” Scheffler explained. “With the new schedule and all the elevated events, I was able to kind of really plan where I was going to play. I know for the most part pretty much every tournament I’m going to play the rest of the year, so that’s how the schedule is set up.”
“I’m just trying to gear up,” he added. “This week is a good prep week for me. It’s nice to be at home and get to play some tournament golf, and I’m excited to be here at the Nelson. It’s a tournament that I always play in, and it’s a lot of fun playing in front of the home crowd.”
The home crowd will get a chance to see Scheffler go for his third win of the season as he tees off at 12:44 p.m. CT on Thursday.
He is one of 15 participants from the Dallas-Fort Worth area in this year’s tournament.
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