Scottie Scheffler fired an ominous warning to the rest of the field after storming into a share of the early lead at the PGA Championship while Rory McIlroy and Bryson DeChambeau endured nightmare starts.
The 29-year-old, bidding to retain the Wanamaker Trophy, produced a composed opening-round 67 at Aronimink Golf Club to move to three under par.
That score was enough to place the world No 1 in a seven-way tie at the top of a tightly packed leaderboard after the first day of the year's second major.
And after finishing runner-up in each of his last three worldwide starts, Scheffler made it clear he believes his game is in excellent shape.
"Definitely the best start I've gotten off to this year, maybe besides American Express," Scheffler said.
The 29-year-old added another ominous message for his rivals by stressing that there is very little to fix in his game despite narrowly missing out on recent victories.
He added: "Finishing second hurts, but when you reflect and you're looking at things to work on, there's a lot less to clean up when you're finishing second than there is when you're finishing 30th."
Scottie Scheffler fired an ominous warning to the rest of the field after storming into a share of the early lead at the PGA Championship while Rory McIlroy and Bryson DeChambeau endured nightmare starts
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Those words are unlikely to comfort the chasing pack.
Scheffler has been remarkably consistent throughout the season and arrived in Pennsylvania after successive runner-up finishes at the Masters Tournament, RBC Heritage and Cadillac Championship.
At Aronimink, he looked every inch the defending champion.
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Five quirky facts about golf | GBNEWSAfter a bogey at the fourth threatened to halt his momentum, Scheffler responded in emphatic fashion with four birdies in a six-hole burst around the turn.
He was particularly impressive from the tee, missing just one fairway throughout the round, while his putter also caught fire.
A birdie at the par-five 16th allowed him to return to three under after his only blemish on the back nine.
Scheffler shares the lead with Martin Kaymer, Min Woo Lee, Aldrich Potgieter, Stephan Jaeger, Ryo Hisatsune and Alex Smalley.
Meanwhile, McIlroy's hopes of back-to-back major titles suffered an early setback.
The Northern Irishman was level par with four holes remaining before a disastrous finish saw him bogey each of his final four holes to sign for a 74.
Scottie Scheffler already looks the favourite to secure PGA Championship glory
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McIlroy, who had been dealing with a painful blister on his right little toe earlier in the week, admitted afterwards that his driving remains a major concern.
DeChambeau's struggles were even more severe.
The American carded a six-over-par 76 to leave himself in danger of missing the cut for the second major in succession.
But it was Scheffler who sent the clearest message, with the defending champion already shining as he looks to etch his name into the history books once again.