NAPA, Calif. — Ben Griffin is clinging to a one-shot lead and has a view over his shoulder by no means seen on the PGA Tour. He has two gamers at No. 1 on the earth chasing him within the Procore Championship.
One is Jackson Koivun, the Auburn junior and No. 1 on the earth newbie rating who already has a PGA Tour card locked up when he turns professional.
The opposite is much extra daunting — Scottie Scheffler, the No. 1 participant in all of golf, who had a double bogey Saturday and nonetheless shot an 8-under 64.
Griffin made his first bogey of the match on the ultimate gap and needed to accept a 2-under 70, narrowing his result in one shot over Koivun and two pictures over Scheffler.
Griffin was at 16-under 200.
“He is confirmed rather a lot out right here on tour despite the fact that he is nonetheless in faculty,” Griffin stated of Koivun, who per week in the past was main the People to victory within the Walker Cup at Cypress Level.
“I do know he is received a ton of recreation. He is proper there in second place in a tour occasion going into Sunday, so he can play simply in addition to Scottie, simply in addition to me,” he stated. “I’ve simply received to deal with myself and keep aggressive and attempt to make a ton of birdies tomorrow and never have to fret about anybody.”
It ought to be fairly a present if Saturday was any indication. The group was the most important because the match moved to Napa in 2014, even when Phil Mickelson performed. This was an opportunity to see all however two gamers on the U.S. Ryder Cup staff of their closing look earlier than going to Bethpage Black for the Sept. 26-28 matches.
Largely they have been there to see Scheffler, with the group four-deep on most holes with equal chants of “Scottie!” and “U-S-A!”
“If I am going out and play good, constant golf, I will begin shifting my method up the leaderboard and that was the purpose going into immediately,” stated Scheffler, who began the spherical eight pictures behind Griffin.
He missed solely two greens and had just one huge blunder, on the 14th. His tee shot drifted into tender, thick tough. He got here up simply wanting the inexperienced after which tried to clip a wedge near a good pin. Nevertheless it got here out tender and into a nasty lie in a deep bunker, he blasted out to fifteen toes and took two putts for a double bogey.
Scheffler answered with three birdies on his final 4 holes, two of them par 5s, the opposite birdie a 7-iron to six toes on the par-3 seventeenth.
Koivun didn’t get off to an ideal begin. He had two bogeys earlier and was beginning to slide down the leaderboard when he bounced again with a birdie on the par-3 eighth, and a tricky shot out of a fairway bunker to twenty toes for a stress-free shot, necessary on the time to keep away from one other setback.
After which he was 5 beneath on the again 9, together with an eagle for the second straight day on the par-5 twelfth, this one with a 40-foot putt.
“Did not have an ideal begin, not the beginning I used to be on the lookout for, however was in a position to type of flip it round halfway by way of the spherical, make some birdies, make some putts, type of flip the script and preserve myself in competition,” Koivun stated.
He has an opportunity to grow to be the second newbie in as a few years to win on the PGA Tour, following Nick Dunlap at The American Categorical final 12 months.
“I do know Nick fairly nicely,” Koivun stated. “I have never actually talked with him about this week, however undoubtedly may wish to go watch his rerun and see what he did.”
Griffin, in the meantime, did not make as many birdies because the opening spherical however nonetheless managed to maintain his distance with three birdies and no errors till the 18th. He was taking part in his third shot on the par-5 18th from 127 yards within the fairway when he got here up brief to a entrance pin, bladed a chip by way of the inexperienced and needed to get up-and-down for bogey.
Griffin received earlier this 12 months at Colonial with Scheffler six pictures behind. He additionally stored within the struggle at Memorial in a bid to trace down Scheffler. So golf’s greatest within the combine is nothing new.
“Not too nervous about what he will do. I’ve simply received to play higher than him,” Griffin stated. “And if I try this tomorrow, ought to have the ability to carry the trophy. Clearly there’s another guys there within the combine, too, however I feel everybody is aware of what Scottie Scheffler is able to and I’ve simply received to remain in entrance.”
