“He’s the best golfer on the planet. He’s good with leads.” Sam Burns said after Scottie Scheffler’s second round at East Lake. Well, where is the lie? Scottie Scheffler could not have had a better start in Atlanta. The 28-year-old opened the round with a bogey but went from strength to strength, hitting seven birdies and closing the round with one.

He entered the match with an advantage of 10-under due to the format and finished with a 6-under. This led him to a 16-under, giving him a whopping seven-stroke lead ahead of Collin Morikawa and Xander Schauffele. After his outstanding performance, the World No. 1 was asked how he felt about being invincible on top of the leaderboard. Scottie Scheffler’s answer took the interviewer back to the Taylor Gooch asterisk comment from February.

Scottie Scheffler demands an asterisk for his performance

Talor Gooch shifted to LIV Golf and miserably dropped down the OWGR list despite winning three events last season. This is because the breakaway tour does not qualify to earn World Ranking points, which led to him not getting an invite to the Masters. In an interview with Golf Digest, he stated that if Rory McIlroy, who has already won the other three Majors, wins at Augusta National, it will be because many LIV Golfers could not be part of the field. He should thus be given an asterisk.

Well, Scheffler had a made similar remark as he said, “There wasn’t a lot of guys there to start the day, and those three guys there didn’t have their best stuff.” However, with Collin Morikawa and Xander Schauffele right behind him, things could change at any moment.

Despite that, he added, “But I did a good job of staying in my world out there and put up a good round of golf.” It was Scottie Scheffler’s witty remark that made the interviewer reference Talor Gooch’s comment, saying they would put an asterisk on his performance. Scheffler responded, “Big one. Talor Gooch sized big,” and well, Scheffler did not mind.

Well, there would have been a declaration of clear win, but not for this course. The East Lake has not treated Scottie Scheffler well, and this was his best finish in the course so far.

Scottie Scheffler calls the East Lake ‘a completely different golf course than it was the last’

The World No. 1 has struggled at the Tour Championship due to the venue. However, it has undergone many changes since 2023. Despite Smylie Kaufman stating that the greens were excellent, Scheffler begged to differ. According to the American professional, since they were new, they are extremely firm, making it more challenging.

There have been difficulties with the 18th hole, but he was excited. “Well I think it’s a completely different golf course than it was the last — I think this is my fifth year here. I mean, it’s the same routine. It’s not the same golf course. It’s completely different,” he said at the post-round presser. Scheffler still holds a good 4-stroke lead ahead of Collin Morikawa at the Tour Championship. Do you think this time East Lake will be kind to him? Stay tuned to find out!