There's no question that Scottie Scheffler was the clear favorite coming into The Masters despite not winning a tournament yet in 2025.Scheffler is defending his green jacket from last year and is looking to become the second player ever to win at Augusta National three times in four years. Only Jack Nicklaus has done so previously.On Thursday morning, he wasted no time backing up that distinction and vaulting himself near the top of the leaderboard. After a par on the first, Scheffler took advantage of the par-5 second hole with a birdie to move into the red on the day.He followed that up with what will surely be one of the putts of the week on the par-3 4th. After sending his tee shot into the front of the green, Scheffler's birdie putt went crashing into the back of the cup to move to 2-under.It didn't take the two-time major champion to one-up himself. After his drive just snuck into the second cut on the par-5 8th, Scheffler left his second shot out to the right side of the green, but it unfortunately buried into a divot out in the fairway.For most players, this would be a big issue. However, Scheffler calmly pitched it out onto the green before sinking a medium-range putt for an improbable birdie four.Scheffler then made another par on the ninth to start his Masters quest off with a 3-under 33 on the front nine. He currently sits in second place, just one shot behind leader Stephan Jaeger.Scheffler has become an even more overwhelming favorite after his hot start on Thursday. There is still plenty of work to do, but the defending champ seems to have all of his tools working here at Augusta National.More Golf: Rory McIlroy's 4-Year-Old Steals Masters Spotlight with Heartfelt Moment