The Memphis, Tennessee, feels-like temperature was 107 degrees Friday afternoon, and Scottie Scheffler might have even been hotter.
Scheffler birdied his first five holes in Round 2 of the FedEx St. Jude Championship to race up the leaderboard in the PGA Tour’s first playoff event.
After opening with a three-birdie, one-bogey 68 on Day 1, Scheffler began his second 18 alongside Rory McIlroy at 12:55 p.m. ET at TPC Southwind.
The world No. 1 rolled in a 12-foot birdie putt at the first and a 20-footer at the second. He easily birdied the par-5 third and then made a pair of 5-footers at Nos. 4 and 5. The streak came to an end at the sixth, but he added another circle with a 9-foot birdie at the seventh.
The 6-under stretch moved him to 8 under for the tournament and into a share of first place with Sungjae Im (66).
After missing his first green of the day at the par-3 eighth, Scheffler failed to get up and down and made bogey. He missed another green at the ninth, but saved par for a 5-under 30 on his inward half (the same number Im shot Friday).
Scheffler is seeking his first Tour win since his season-opener at The American Express. He’s also looking to further his bid for a fifth-consecutive Jack Nicklaus Award for PGA Tour player of the year.
McIlroy, for his part, had two birdies and one bogey over his first nine holes in Round 2 to get to 3 over for the event.
