AT&T Byron Nelson 2023 Leaderboard, Score: Scottie Scheffler narrowly leads after hot start in Round 1

One final tune is underway ahead of the 2023 PGA Championship and — surprise, surprise — Scottie Scheffler is in contention.

The six-time PGA Tour winner looks like he’ll threaten the all-time PGA Tour scoring record in a single round (58, Jim Furyk) through the end of Thursday’s first half. He cooled down late, but he was still four men away from entering the second round of Friday with just three players ahead of him.

Seung Yul Noh took the lead after 18 holes, and speaking of a terrifying scoring record, he did it (with some defunct equipment!) on Thursday. Noh wild shot 11 under 60 and led Adam Scott and Marty Dou by three points each after Round 1.

Let’s take a closer look at his first round as well as what to watch for over the next three days.

Leaders

1. Seung Yul Noh (-11)

Noh hit a tournament record of 60, won nine strokes on the court and completely lost his mind on a three-stroke lead. He did all of that with a cracked driver in the latter part of his round. He was finally allowed to change clubs on the 16th hole after playing without a club for a few holes.

Referee John Mutch noted that the reason he was not allowed to replace it earlier was because there had to be damage afterwards. One crack wasn’t enough to guarantee that, but eventually the driver split even more and Noh got the replacement.

“There was definitely separation in the metal on the face and there was obvious dents on the face. The concavity made the face unsuitable. So the club at that time was not suitable for play,” said Mutch.

The real story of Noh’s day, however, is his batting. He made putts at the following distances.

• 15 sets
• 39 sets
• 27 sets
• 34 feet

He hit 6.5 strokes with his putter, more than anyone else hit during the day. That was great for him and it almost led to a result of 59, but it also screams “let’s go back to mean” on Friday and beyond.

Others are arguing

T2. Adam Scott, Marty Dou (-8)

T4. Jason Day, Luke List, Ryan Palmer, Scott Piercy, Richy Werenski, Scottie Scheffler (-7)

There are a lot of names here at the top of the table, but only one really matters. Scheffler hit 64 and got 5 strokes on the court. Just another day at the world No 2’s office as he loses just a handful of strokes on the court in three rounds total in 2023.

The amazing thing about Scheffler is that it doesn’t matter what the style of the golf course is or how hard or easy it is to play. He just kept placing one number after another. He’s now the favorite to win 2-1 and Data Golf says there’s a 33% chance he does.

Even funnier? After playing the first six holes on Thursday under 6, Scheffler has a 50% chance of winning a tournament where he has 66 holes left (!).

“Just a great start,” said Scheffler. “I was just trying to keep going, and unfortunately I had three putts and then I didn’t take advantage of the par-5, and then I got a few more bogeys.”

Scheffler played the hole 7-13 in 3 more after starting smoking. Then he played the last five games with a 4 under to get it all back and then some.

“Luckily I finished the round really well to get back to the top just because after a great start there were still some unfortunate holes that I needed to play and I couldn’t. I took advantage of them, but I did very well,” said Scheffler.

AT&T Byron Nelson Odds

Via Caesars Sportsbook

• Scottie Scheffler: 2-1
• Jason’s Day: 15/2
• Adam Scott: 15/2
• Seung Yul Noh: 9-1
• Si Woo Kim: 22-1
• Hideki Matsuyama: 22-1

Day has played as a top five player in the world until 2023, it’s just that he doesn’t have a win to show for it. This is a nice place for him, though. He’s won the Nelson Award before and won’t be afraid of a putt competition. He might want to save it for next week’s PGA Championship, but the best bet at the top of this betting table is Day at +750 for the last three rounds.

Greg DuCharme and Kyle Porter break the 1st round of AT&T Byron Nelson. Scoreboard, plot and betting favorites after the 60th round of SY Noh with Scottie Scheffler and Jason Day chasing. Follow and listen to The First Cut on Apple Podcasts And Spotify.