Scheffler fires Masters warning with sizzling 62 in Houston

Scottie Scheffler moved ominously into Masters mode when he produced his best putting performance of the season and fired an immaculate eight-under 62 to set the early pace in the Texas Children's Houston Open.

The world number one took advantage of perfect early morning conditions at Memorial Park Golf Course to roll in 112 feet of putts in a course record-equalling round.

The reigning Masters champion led on 11-under in his last start before heading to Augusta National, one shot clear of Canada's Taylor Pendrith, who shot 65.

"Yeah, it felt pretty good," said Scheffler, who went bogey-free for the second day running, missing just one green in regulation.

"Hit a lot of fairways out there, gave myself a lot of looks. I holed a good amount of putts today, holed a few long ones, which is always nice."

The Texan didn't feel he was hitting his irons particularly well, but he had such confidence in his putter he didn't chase pins and gained over 3.7 strokes on the greens.

"Today was a day where I felt like my ball-striking could have been a bit better and I was able to hole some putts," he said.

"I hit a lot of greens, but I felt like my irons were just barely off, and I felt like I could have been hitting them a little bit closer to the hole, but overall, I kept it on the green, kept giving myself looks.

"The way I was putting, I didn't feel I had to force 'em there by many pins if I wasn't totally comfortable with the shot, so good results."

He added: "Yesterday I felt like I made a couple key par saves and today I felt like for the most part I kept the golf course in front of me and I had a lot of looks for birdie, so I didn't feel like I was struggling for par too much, and that was mostly because I think I was in the fairway …"

Séamus Power will earn a spot in the Masters if he wins in Houston, but he trailed Scheffler by nine strokes after carding a second successive 69.

He was a shot inside the projected cut line on two-under, but veteran Pádraig Harrington was destined to miss the weekend after carding a 71 to finish on five-over.

Conditions were far more demanding in New Delhi, where Japan's Keita Nakajima remained on course to retain his Hero Indian Open title after carding a best-of-the-week 66 to share the lead with Spain's Eugenio Chacarra.

On a day when just 11 players broke par compared to 29 on day one, Nakajima improved on his opening round by eight shots with a six-under-par effort at DLF Golf and Country Club.

He led by two shots on four-under alongside Chacarra, who shot 70 in just his ninth DP World Tour start.
Just 14 players were under par at halfway, but Portmarnock's Conor Purcell missed the six-over-par cut by five strokes after he added an 80 to his opening 75.

"It was a great day, and also, it was so fun," said Nakajima, who went out in a blistering seven-under 29. "I have two more rounds and two more days to look forward to."

As for retaining his title, he added: "I feel a little nervous about the weekend because I want to defend my title, but I will try playing with a smile and also have fun. That'd be great."

He dropped his first shot at the 11th but bounced back with a birdie at the 13th before bogeying the par-four 14th.

Another birdie at the 15th saw him regain the lead, but a closing bogey meant he had to settle for a share of top spot with former LIV Golf star Chacarra.

Thailand's Kiradech Aphibarnrat, the Netherlands’ Joost Luiten, Itay’s Andrea Pavan, England's Matthew Jordan and Swede Jens Dantorp were tied for third on two-under.

In the ABSA Ladies Invitational on the Sunshine Ladies Tour, Olivia Mehaffey shot a level par 72 at Royal Johannesburg to go into the final round tied for 13th on two-under, eight strokes behind England's Thalia Martin.

LET rookie Canice Screene missed the two-over cut by a shot after a 76.