DUBLIN, Ohio — Scottie Scheffler felt he was hitting all the fitting pictures and solely had 13 straight pars to indicate for it Saturday on a troublesome day on the Memorial. As traditional, he had a robust ending kick, and the world’s No. 1 participant wound up in a well-known spot.
Scheffler, six pictures behind when he made the flip, had 4 birdies over the past 5 holes for a 4-under 68 at Muirfield Village, giving him a one-shot lead when Ben Griffin missed a 3-foot par putt on the ultimate gap.
“I do not know what the scoring common was right this moment, however I used to be positively happy with the way in which I completed and it was actually difficult,” Scheffler stated. “By 13 holes, I felt like I used to be enjoying actually good and I used to be solely even par. Only a onerous course.”
And it turned a tough activity for everybody chasing him. Scheffler has gained the final eight instances when he had the 54-hole lead, together with two weeks in the past on the PGA Championship. He goes after his third win in his final 4 begins.
Nobody is falling by the wayside, not with 5 gamers inside 5 pictures of the lead when a lot can occur so shortly at Muirfield Village, as Saturday confirmed.
And that begins with Griffin, who gained his first particular person PGA Tour title at Colonial final week and did not sound in the least bothered that Scheffler was the man he was chasing.
“Clearly, Scottie Scheffler’s the very best participant on this planet, however No. 1 could be beat,” Griffin stated. “I really feel like proper now … you understand, I beat him final week. Clearly, he is coming off a significant win. However, yeah, I really feel like he clearly could be crushed, and I’ve simply obtained to maintain the pedal down and make plenty of birdies as a result of I do know he’ll, as nicely.”
The scoring common for the 57 gamers who made the minimize was 73.9, and three gamers failed to interrupt 80. Scheffler, the one participant to interrupt par all three rounds, was at 8-under 208.
Griffin turned the one participant this week to succeed in 10-under par when he ran off three straight birdies beginning at No. 6. After which he gave all of it again with 4 straight bogeys, three of these bogeys from both the green or the tee field.
Scheffler was lurking, as at all times. He has an uncanny knack of hanging round and winding up with the low rating by the tip of the day. This was no exception.
“I did see that Ben obtained to 10 underneath, but it surely’s not going to vary my play in the midst of a Saturday,” Scheffler stated. “This golf course is basically difficult and no lead’s secure round this place. I knew if I stored going and performed an honest spherical, I’d be in considerably of a place to chase him down tomorrow.”
He holed a 10-foot birdie putt on the 14th — his first of the day — adopted getting on the collar of the inexperienced on the par-5 fifteenth for a easy birdie. He hit 7-iron into the wind to eight toes for birdie and closed with one final birdie from simply inside 15 toes that finally gave him the lead.
He is now not chasing, and he is a troublesome buyer to trace down.
Jordan Spieth additionally was within the chase, tied with Scheffler in second place at one level, till he failed to save lots of par from a bunker on the seventeenth and drove into the creek on the 18th for a closing bogey and a 72. He was 5 pictures behind, feeling higher about his recreation.
There was only one downside. Spieth talked in regards to the enjoyable of being within the combine, of creating six birdies on a troublesome course, of needing to maintain transferring in that route. After which he paused.
“The bummer for me is Scottie’s at 7 or 8 (underneath) and he simply … you possibly can’t depend on him taking pictures even tomorrow,” Spieth stated. “So it might take one thing particular. However all in all, simply making an attempt to shoot a couple of underneath every day trip right here.”
Nick Taylor of Canada wound up three pictures behind after a 74, and for that he was grateful on the finish. Taylor went into the water and made double bogey on the diabolical par-3 twelfth, adopted that with a bogey and was sliding out of competition. After which he holed out from fairway for eagle on the 14th, birdied the following gap and performed that four-stretch in even par.
The perfect spherical belonged to Sepp Straka, a two-time winner on the PGA Tour this 12 months. He posted a 66 because the leaders have been simply getting began and was within the group at 3-under 213 that included Spieth and Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley (68).
Patrick Cantlay and Rickie Fowler every shot 69 and joined Shane Lowry (73) at 214. It is a great distance off, and it could really feel even longer with Scheffler the one they’re chasing.
“It is a powerful golf course. I will be making an attempt to chase him down,” Taylor stated. “He is clearly enjoying phenomenal, so I will must play a few of my greatest golf to be within the hunt there with the previous couple of holes to go. However it’s enjoying so troublesome that being a couple of underneath early will get me again in there.”
