We’ll get the bad part out of the way early – and quickly.

On Friday, Scottie Scheffler made double bogey on the 18th hole of the Nicklaus Tournament Course to close out his opening nine.

“Just the one miss happened on 18,” he said after his round, “but other than that, played pretty solid.”

Yeah – other than that he played the course in 10 under par.

Following rounds of 65-64, Scheffler shares the lead with Rickie Fowler through two days at the American Express.

He birdied six of his first seven holes Friday before his mishap at 18, which is his only blemish through two days. He added an eagle and two more birdies on the back nine. This three on his final hole probably should have been a two.

“It looked pretty good from the fairway,” he said. “It was kind of hard to see with the sunlight, but it was a pretty good shot.”

The former Texas Longhorn is fully exempt on Tour this season after finishing No. 1 last year on the Korn Ferry points list. He won twice on that circuit in 2019, at the Evans Scholars Invitational and the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship, collecting 10 top-10s in 20 starts.

And since arriving on the PGA Tour, he’s kept on rolling. This is Scheffler’s third 36-hole lead this season. The previous two he parlayed into a T-7 at the Greenbrier and a T-3 in Bermuda. He separately finished fifth at the RSM and has yet to miss a cut in seven previous starts.

Headed to the PGA West Stadium Course this week, he’ll take another stab at picking up his first PGA Tour victory.

“I just think you got to keep putting yourself in contention, and I’ve got a good chance this week,” he said. “Just keep doing that. Just keep playing and putting yourself in a good spot.”