McKINNEY, Texas—Scottie Scheffler says he tries not to put too much emphasis on winning one tournament over another, even when his hometown Byron Nelson is in play.
Ryan Palmer isn’t keeping any secrets. Win the Nelson not far from his home in another Dallas-Fort Worth suburb, knowing it would qualify the 46-year-old Texan for next week’s PGA Championship?
“I'd win this tournament and stay home next week, to be honest with you,” said Palmer, who lives in Colleyville but was born and raised in Amarillo in West Texas. “That means more to me.”
Scheffler shot his second consecutive 7–under 64 on Friday for the clubhouse lead among the earlier finishers. Palmer’s 65 put him at 13–under 129. Si Woo Kim shot 66 and was 11 under.
S.Y. Noh, who tied the course record with an opening-round 60, played in the afternoon.
Two-time defending champion K.H. Lee was in position to make the cut at 4 under, but his bid to become the first player in 12 years to win a tournament three consecutive times is all but gone. The South Korean birdied three of his final six holes.
Last year, Scheffler shared the hometown spotlight with fellow former Texas Longhorn Jordan Spieth, who had to withdraw from this event because of a wrist injury.
Spieth doesn’t hide his desire to win the tournament where he was a Sunday contender as a 16-year-old high schooler 13 years ago.
Also raised in Dallas, Scheffler made his PGA Tour debut at the Nelson four years after Spieth’s stunning run, making the cut and recording a hole-in-one as a high school senior.
“I want to win a lot of tournaments,” said Scheffler, who would return to No. 1 in the rankings for the third time this year with a victory. “This one being in the hometown, it would definitely be a lot of fun with the crowd behind me this weekend.
“But that’s not stuff that occupies too many of my thoughts,” Scheffler said. “I don’t want to place too much emphasis on one tournament. I just want to go out and do my best and see where that puts me.”
Scheffler and Spieth are both 20-somethings with plenty of Nelsons in their futures. Palmer, who shares a coach and plenty of practice time with Scheffler, is 20 years older than the 2022 Masters winner.
After what he said was the earliest wakeup time in 20 years on tour (3:50 a.m.) for a 7:01 tee time, Palmer had seven birdies and a bogey a day after eight birdies and a bogey.
A year ago, Palmer was tied for the 36-hole lead at 15 under, musing then that he was the older, maybe forgotten Texan with all the attention on the three-time major winner Spieth and Scheffler, the defending Masters champ at the time.
Palmer’s last tour win was a combo effort with Jon Rahm, the current No. 1, four years ago. His most recent solo victory was 13 years ago.
“I’ve just got to keep the gas pedal down,” Palmer said. “I think we’re going to get a lot of rain (Saturday), it sounds like and possibly Sunday, so it could be a very patient weekend.”
Scheffler took his first outright lead with a birdie at No. 3, his 12th hole of the day. The 26-year-old was bogey-free until his 17th hole on No. 8 but answered with a birdie at the par-5 ninth.
“Just solid golf,” Scheffler said. “I didn’t really struggle for too many pars out there, and I felt like I putted a little bit better today than yesterday.”
