Scottie Scheffler credits conditions at 'home' for his Arnold Palmer Invitational Round 1 score

World No.1 Scottie Scheffler teed off for the opening round of the 2025 Arnold Palmer Invitational at the Bay Hill Golf Course on Thursday, March 6. Although the winds were high, Scheffler revealed that he had anticipated the weather and was prepared for it.

The American professional golfer turned pro in 2018 and boasts 13 PGA Tour wins. He has won the Masters Tournament twice and has had T2 finishes in the U.S. Open and the PGA Championship. He also won the Arnold Palmer Invitational last year and returned to the Bay Hill Golf Course this year to defend his title.

After the first round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational, Scheffler spoke to ASAP Sports about his game. He acknowledged that growing up in Texas made him used to the winds, so he was prepared for the weather he experienced on the course.

“I definitely have the experience in it. We play in a lot of wind at home. One of the things, especially in Texas, is the day-to-day change. You don't ever really know what it's golf course to be like sometimes, especially this time of year,” Scheffler said.

“Yeah, like this morning when you walked out of the house and it was a lot colder than I anticipated it was going to be, and I had to go back inside and grab a few extra layers and then come back out,” he added.

The World No. 1 added that the most challenging part of the day was navigating the fairways.

“I would say one of the things that's interesting that you may not see on TV is, what is so challenging is if you're trying to run the ball up, a lot of fairways are really soft, but the greens are like concrete. So it can be really challenging to get the ball close to the hole, especially if you're not coming from out of the fairway,” Scheffler said.

Scottie Scheffler finished the first round at T11, tied with Collin Morikawa, Justin Thomas, and Patrick Cantlay.

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A look at Scottie Scheffler’s performance in the Arnold Palmer Invitational round 1

Scottie Scheffler had a spectacular season last year, clinching eight PGA Tour wins. So far, in 2025, his best finish was the Genesis Invitational at T3. He has not secured any wins yet.

In the opening round of the 2025 Arnold Palmer Invitational, the World No. 1 made a bogey on the second hole, followed by two back-to-back birdies in holes six and seven. He made another bogey on the 14th hole and a third birdie on the 16th.

Despite the 30 mph winds, Scottie Scheffler finished the day with one-under 71, which pushed him to T11. Notably, Wyndham Clark finished the first round with five-under 67, boosting him to the top of the leaderboard. Keegan Bradley occupies the T2 spot in a tie with Corey Conners, Shane Lowry, and Christiaan Bezuidenhout.