Silly season is here, and it starts in the Bahamas at the 2024 Hero World Challenge.
Twenty of the best golfers in the world, including world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, teed it up Thursday at Albany Golf Club in the Bahamas for the opening round and it’s Cameron Young on top after the first 18 holes. Tiger Woods is the tournament host, though he isn’t playing this week.
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Here’s what you need to know from the opening round at the Hero World Challenge.
Cam Young’s simplified mindset
It has been 102 days between shots in competitive rounds for Cameron Young, but there were no signs of rust for the 27-year-old.
Young fired a bogey-free 8-under 64 on Thursday to take the early lead at the Hero by two shots. Young hit 12-of-13 fairways and made 96 feet of putts, resulting in eight birdies.
“Just kind of got off to a nice start with the putter,” Young said. “There’s a bunch of par 5s and a couple drivable holes, so I feel that if you’re on top of it, especially off the tee, you can make a bunch of birdies.”
Young said he didn’t change any equipment in his bag during his time off, instead doing normal physical and mental work at home. He just needed to hit the reset button.
“It’s a nice time to go back to all the really simple things and make them comfortable again and getting yourself really square, working on setup things,” Young said. “I feel like it’s been nice for me to have the time to spend on that at home.”
Still in search of his first PGA Tour victory, Young’s start is promising to finally crossing the finish line in the professional ranks.
JT as a dad
Last month, Justin Thomas and his wife, Jill, welcomed their first child. This week, Thomas returned to the course, trying to end a winless streak that has extended more than two years.
And he’s off to an excellent start in the Bahamas.
Thomas opened in 6-under 66, including six birdies in eight holes on the back nine, and is solo second and two shots behind Young. A birdie putt on the 18th hole grazed the edge of the cup, and if it would’ve fallen, Thomas would’ve shot 29 on the back with five straight birdies to finish.
“Just felt like I was maybe just trying a little too hard to get it going,” Thomas said. “Yeah, just it was nice to make that birdie on 7 and had good chances there on 8 and 9, but then once 10, 11 happened I felt like I got in a nice rhythm there on the back nine.”
His last start, at the Zozo Championship, Thomas finished T-2 and one shot back of winner Nico Echavarria. He has been trending for some time, and it seems as if a win is coming sooner rather than later.
Perhaps he’ll have a trophy to bring home to Molly on Sunday.
Scheffler’s putting change
Scheffler is coming off one of the best seasons since Woods was dominating the PGA Tour in the 2000s. Seven wins, another green jacket and his first Tour Championship victory.
Yet he showed up to the Bahamas using the claw putting grip, his second major putting change in 2024.
The first-round results? Not great, not bad.
In typical Scheffler form, he shot 5-under 67 and had six birdies. Thanks to a birdie putt on the closing par-4 18th, he finished 10th of 20 in Strokes Gained: Putting. He’s T-3 heading into the second round.
“Doing a little bit of testing this week, is how I’d describe it,” Scheffler told Golf Channel’s Cara Banks after the round.
On longer putts, Scheffler stuck with his old putting grip. But on the short- to mid-range ones, he was using the claw (or saw, as some call it).
Some things change, like putting grips. Other things, like Scheffler’s dominance, stay the same.
Akshay’s prototype driver
Akshay Bhatia made a big equipment switch this week. He put a new prototype driver in the bag.
Bhatia didn’t specify what his new driver was, but earlier this year he was using a Callaway Rogue ST MAX with a Fujikura Ventus Black 7X shaft when he won the Valero Texas Open. The new driver has lower spin rates, which has been a big boost to Bhatia’s game off the tee.
“The misses especially for me when I hit it off the heel, it’s starting right and cutting versus, sometimes I would hit it off the heel and it goes straight right,” Bhatia said. “Yeah, it’s been — it was really, really encouraging.”
Bhatia hit eight-of-13 fairways Thursday in his opening 5-under 67, good for T-3. He was middle of the pack in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee, but he also led the field in putting.
Even if the numbers on his driver weren’t some of the best in the field, his confidence with the driver has changed his perspective on the tee box.
“When I’m aiming down the right side and it’s not cutting, it’s a scary feeling for me because I’ve always cut the ball with driver,” Bhatia said. “Now I have that opportunity to start it, aim it right, feel comfortable it’s going to go left and having the one-way miss is important.”
Hatless Cantlay and the Ryder Cup
One of the players at the center of the “Should players be paid at the Ryder Cup” debate is Patrick Cantlay.
Ever since his no-hat choice in Rome last year, which stirred debate about why he decided to do it, many players have been asked about whether they should be compensated for the biennial competition, including Woods this week.
After an opening 5-under 67 for Cantlay, in his first appearance since the Presidents Cup in September, he was asked about it.
“My thoughts on the Ryder Cup are really simple: I’m there to represent my country and I’m there to win points for my teammates and that’s it.
“I think that’s a media narrative, and I’m not going to fall into that.”
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Justin Thomas’ brilliant back nine among highlights from Thursday at 2024 Hero World Challenge
