Scottie Scheffler reveals struggle with wet golf balls at Houston Open

Scottie Scheffler talked about the struggles he encountered after challenging weather conditions at the Texas Children's Houston Open on Thursday. The first round had persistent rain and strong wind gusts, creating tough conditions for golfers.

Scheffler scored a bogey-free 3-under 67 in the first round at Memorial Park Golf Course. He scored three birdies on the 3rd, 13th and 14th holes. In the post-round press conference, he was asked what he found most challenging in conditions with intermittent rain and swirling winds.

Scheffler said that moisture affected how the ball interacted with the clubface, leading to unpredictable shots. He said, via Tee Scripts:

"Well, I think what most players struggle with is just adjusting to the conditions. When the ball's wet it reacts a little bit differently on the club face, and when you get swirling winds, especially sometimes when you get in between the stands it can be hard to judge exactly where the wind's coming from.

"But overall did a good job kind of plotting my way around, hit some good shots, made a couple nice par saves which kept the momentum in the round going," he added.

Scottie Scheffler said that his game improved on the back nine, and he was pleased, despite the conditions, to have a "clean card."

Scheffler is tied for 13th with Taylor Dickson, Ryo Hisatsune, Jesper Svensson and Adam Svensson. He is two shots behind the leaders. Alejandro Tosti, Ryan Gerard, Keith Mitchell, and Taylor Pendrith are tied for first on the leaderboard.

The winner of the Texas Children's Houston Open will take home $1.71 million from a total prize purse of $9.5 million.

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Scottie Scheffler talks about his biggest source of motivation

In the pre-tournament press conference, Scottie Scheffler was asked about his biggest source of motivation. He said that his motivation comes from within, and he believed in thorough preparation for each tournament.

"Mine's mostly internal. I try not to pay attention to what other people are doing. What's always worked best for me is staying in the present, working hard preparing for each event as an individual tournament and just showing up ready to play," he added, via Tee Scripts.

Scheffler added that he always aimed to be fully prepared before teeing off and loved competition. Reflecting on his game in the 2025 season, he said:

"Yeah, feeling pretty good. Excited about the stuff that we're working on right now and game feels like it's in a good spot. Definitely excited to get the season going this week."

Scottie Scheffler has had five starts this season. He has made two top-10 finishes and five top-25 finishes. His best performance came at the Genesis Invitational, where he tied for third.

Let's take a look at his starts in 2025 on the PGA TOUR Tournaments:

• AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am: T9 (273, -15)
• WM Phoenix Open: T25 (275, -9)
• The Genesis Invitational: T3 (279, -9)
• Arnold Palmer Invitational: T11 (284, -4)
• THE PLAYERS Championship: T20 (284, -4)