Sepp Straka and Scottie Scheffler are tied for the lead after the first round of the PGA Tour’s Hero World Challenge.
Tiger Woods’ invitational event on the PGA Tour, the Hero World Challenge, once again brings together 20 of the world’s top golfers. On Day 1 at Albany Golf Course in the Bahamas, Austria’s Sepp Straka delivered an impressive 6-under-par round to join a five-way tie at the top. Alongside Straka and world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, J.J. Spaun, Akshay Bhatia, and Wyndham Clark also share the lead in a tightly packed leaderboard.
Scheffler Drops Solo Lead on Final Hole
Scottie Scheffler looked poised to take the solo lead late on Thursday after a nearly flawless round. He opened strong with birdies on holes 2 and 3, added another on 6, and narrowly missed an eagle on 7, settling for his fourth birdie. At 4-under at the turn, Scheffler continued his momentum with birdies on 13, 14, and 15 to tie J.J. Spaun, who had bogeyed the 18th. But Scheffler also stumbled on the final hole, carding a bogey that dropped him back into a five-way tie heading into Friday.
Straka Shines in Return to Individual Play
Sepp Straka, playing his first individual event since the Tour Championship in August, showed no signs of rust. He birdied the opening hole and added another on the par-5 third. A steady front nine left him at 2-under, but he caught fire on the back nine. A precise tee shot on 12 set up a birdie, followed by another on 14. Straka then closed with birdies on 17 and 18—two of the course’s toughest holes—to finish at 6-under and claim a share of the lead.