Scottie Scheffler provides back injury update during BMW Championship
Scottie Scheffler provides an update to the media after waking up with a sore back on Thursday at the BMW Championship.
Scottie Scheffler admitted to waking up with a sore back ahead of his first round at the BMW Championship, but the runaway World No.1 expects to be fine to continue the tournament at Castle Pines GC in Colorado.
Scheffler, 28, was seen wincing after playing his second shot into the par-5 17th.
Immediately after striking his ball with a mid-iron, Scheffler placed a hand on his back and then momentarily bent forward.
The leader of the FedEx Cup proceeded to record a score of 1-under 71, placing him five strokes behind the early leader, US Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley.
For Scheffler to maintain his lead heading into the FedEx Cup finale at the Tour Championship next week, Xander Schauffele must win the BMW Championship while Scheffler finishes outside the top five.
This scenario is certainly plausible, as Schauffele began his round with a score of 3-under 69.
Scheffler was pressed by reporters to provide an update on his back.
The two-time Masters champion explained he felt a ‘little tightness’ out there but that he will be ‘totally fine tomorrow’.
Scheffler said after the round:
“I woke up just a little sore this morning. I had trouble kind of loosening it up. I mean, that was a hard — with it being a little bit tight it was hard for me to get through it and I was laboring most of the day to get through the ball. On 17 I was trying to hit a high draw, and that’s a shot where I’ve really got to use a big turn, big motion. Really just felt it a little bit. But other than that, all good.”
Scheffler added:
“Maybe I hit a few too many balls yesterday or something. It was just a little sore. I’m sure I’ll get some ice on it and stuff and I’ll be totally fine tomorrow.”
Other players off to fast starts at the BMW Championship include last week’s winner Hideki Matsuyama, Adam Scott, Corey Conners, Alex Noren and Sungjae Im.
Rory McIlroy and Collin Morikawa are also under-par as they look to nudge themselves further into contention for the FedEx Cup.
Northern Ireland’s McIlroy is already a record three-time FedEx Cup holder
Currently, it is the newly-promoted US Ryder Cup participant, Bradley, who is leading the standings.
At the outset of this week’s 50-man tournament, Bradley was positioned at the bottom of the FedEx Cup rankings.
If he secures his seventh PGA Tour title this Sunday, he would significantly improve his standing, placing him within the top five as he heads to East Lake next week.
Bradley has expressed his desire to compete for a spot on next year’s US Ryder Cup team as a player; however, he has stated that he will not select himself for the team.
In the event that he qualifies automatically, it is likely that he would delegate the captaincy to another individual.
