Chris Gotterup seems to have figured out TPC Scottsdale, giving him a chance to finally see the Saturday spectacle of the Phoenix Open.

But top-ranked Scottie Scheffler will need to go low in his next round if he's going to get to the weekend.

Min Woo Lee is the best-placed Australian in a tie for 56th. His even-par 71 leaves him one shot ahead of Cam Davis and two clear of Karl Vilips.

Gotterup shot a bogey-free eight-under 63 to take a two-shot lead after the first round in Arizona, on a rare day when Scheffler struggled.

"I don't know if the course has changed at all," Gotterup said.

"I just feel like I've been playing better and managing my game better. We were flying back from TGL [golf league] and I was like, 'I need to see Saturday here this week.'"

Gotterup will get his chance after a warm Thursday – even for the desert – that produced some long drives and low scores.

England's Matt Fitzpatrick (65) matched the back-nine record with a 29. Sam Stevens was among a group of four players at 66, and 26 players shot 68 or better before play was suspended because of darkness.

Four-time player of the year Scheffler flubbed two chip shots during a two-over 73 that put his active record streak of 65 cuts in jeopardy.

Brooks Koepka (75) also struggled. The five-time major champion had just one birdie in his second tournament since being reinstated by the PGA Tour.

Gotterup shot a final-round 64 in the season-opening Sony Open on Oahu for his third victory in three PGA Tour seasons, and tied for 18th at Torrey Pines last week.

The 26-year-old missed the cut at his two previous trips to TPC Scottsdale, but jump-started his round by rolling in a 27-foot eagle putt from just off the green on the par-5 13th. He soaked up the boozy roars at the stadium par-3 16th by pouring in a seven-footer for his third straight birdie and added another on 18 to turn in six-under 30.

He two-putted for birdie on the par-5 third and added a 26-footer on the long par-3 seventh to match the opening he had in Hawaii.

"I feel like I'm doing things well and thinking through things well, and I think that's the most important thing," Gotterup said.

"I wouldn't say today I drove it my best or did anything, [but] I putted great."

Scheffler is eyeing his third straight PGA Tour win amid a run of 33 straight sub-par rounds.

The winner at The American Express two weeks ago, Scheffler is 10 shots back and in danger of missing a cut for the first time since 2022.