Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images
Scheffler battled through a neck injury Saturday at the 50th Players Championship, giving himself a chance in the final round.
Scottie Scheffler will enter the final round of the 50th Players Championship looking to become the first-ever back-to-back champion. In order to pull that off, he is going to need some help despite yet another solid round of golf Saturday.
Scheffler carded a 4-under 68 to finish at 12-under par, tied for sixth. Yet, he sits five shots behind the suddenly red-hot Xander Schauffele.
Following his round, Scheffler was asked what it is going to erase the deficit and take home the trophy.
“Shoot very low,” he said bluntly.
Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images
Indeed, Scheffler will likely need to go very low Sunday if he wants to make history. He went on to acknowledge it will not be easy task.
“I’m definitely on the outside looking in, but a hot day tomorrow could go a long way.”
He has thus far recorded all three rounds in the 60s. But that in all likelihood will not be enough Sunday. Schauffele, Wyndham Clark and Brian Harman are all playing too well.
Scheffler is going to need to pick up Sunday where he left off.
After what he described was a frustrating round at times, the World No. 1 took advantage of the easiest hole on the course — the par-5 16th, making birdie. That brought him into double figures, but to have a realistic chance, he needed a flurry and that’s exactly what he accomplished.
“Yeah, it was nice. I hit some good shots towards the end. It was good to see some quality shots. Yeah, kept battling until the end… It was nice to get some birdies to close,” Scheffler said.
He hit a great tee shot on the famous ‘island green’ of TPC Sawgrass, aggressively attacking the front-left pin location. That left just under seven feet. He would make the birdie two.
After a picturesque tee shot on 18, Scheffler’s approach was 12 feet from the hole. The former Masters champion would continue his improved putting and sink the birdie to cap the day, giving him an outside shot Sunday.
Clark is one back of Schauffele and will play in the final group. Harman is 15-under, with upstart Maverick McNealy and Matt Fitzpatrick sitting at 13-under par.
All of that should culminate in a great finish for the PGA Tour’s unofficial fifth major, The Players Championship.
Kendall Capps is the Senior Editor of SB Nation’s Playing Through. For more golf coverage, follow us @_PlayingThrough on all major social media platforms.
