Scottie Scheffler reacts to a missed putt during day three at The 152nd Open. | Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler struggled on the greens, yet he remains in contention for his first Claret Jug at Royal Troon.
Scottie Scheffler did not make a single putt over eight feet on Saturday at Royal Troon, yet the World No. 1 is two back of 54-hole leader Billy Horschel at The Open Championship.
He is lurking, mainly because of his incredible play from tee to green, which was on full display at the brutal par-3 17th. This 238-yard beast played straight into the prevailing breeze, a near-impossible circumstance that left dozens of players helpless on the tee.
But not Scheffler.
He piped a 3-wood within inches of the cup, coming close to following Si Woo Kim, who made an ace there earlier in the day.
Scheffler proceeded to tap in for birdie, his second and final par-breaker of his third round—a round in which he shot an even-par 71.
“I probably don’t hit a 3-wood on a par-3 very often,” Scheffler said.
“I probably don’t hit driver and a 3-wood really solid on a par-4 and don’t get there in two, either.”
That is what happened to Scheffler on the 502-yard par-4 15th, another one of Royal Troon’s brutal par-4s that played well over par and into the prevailing breeze on Saturday. Other players even hit drivers off the deck into this hole and still came up short.
The weather once again made the best players look silly at The Open.
“Overall, the back nine, I think, was probably the hardest nine holes I’ll ever play,” Scheffler said.
“You never really know with the forecast, and there was some rain in the forecast, but it was supposed to be a southwest wind, which was similar to the wind we’ve had the last couple of days, and it came more directly into us on the back nine versus down off the left. It was definitely very challenging.”
Despite the difficulty, Scheffler ranked third among the field in strokes gained approaching the green, picking up more than three shots from the fairway. But he gave those shots right back with his putter, losing 3.20 strokes on the greens, good for 78th among the 80 players who made the cut. He could not make a putt on Saturday, throwing away birdie look after birdie look. His birdie tries on the 8th and 9th immediately come to mind.
Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images
Scottie Scheffler during Day Three at The 152nd Open.
But Scheffler even missed a three-footer for par on 15, which dropped him back to 1-under for the championship.
“Other than the missed short putt on 15 there, where I got a bit distracted, it was a really solid back nine,” Scheffler said.
“Raindrops falling off the front of the cap got me in the middle of my stroke.”
Two holes later, Scheffler bounced back with one of the best shots of the championship on the 17th hole. He has done that all season, leading the PGA Tour in bounce-back percentage after making a rare mistake.
But part of what makes Scheffler so great is his mentality. He does not waver from the task unless raindrops distract him. Instead, he remains in the present and level-headed, even when his putter fails to cooperate.
“It can be frustrating, but I felt like today was another one of those days where I just did a really good job of not getting overly frustrated, staying in a good head space, and did a good job of really staying in the tournament,” Scheffler said.
“But my goal making the turn going into the back nine was to do what I could to stay in the tournament and steal some shots where I could, and there wasn’t really much to steal on the back nine, so it was good getting in.”
Scheffler played the final nine holes in 1-over-par, which is remarkable considering the circumstances. And he most certainly kept himself in it, as he lurks two back with 18 holes to play. Six players also sit in a tie for second at 3-under, meaning anything can happen on Sunday.
Regardless, everyone should watch out for Scheffler, especially with how he is hitting the ball from tee to green. Even on a day with wind, rain, and freezing cold temperatures, he still found 13-of-14 fairways and hit 14-of-18 greens. No matter the conditions, he flushes the ball on the center of the club face, which explains why he has won six times already this season.
But if he can make a couple of more putts during the final round, surely win number seven will come in the form of a Claret Jug.
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.
