Scottie Scheffler Remains in Masters Lead After Third Round
Scottie Scheffler remained in the lead at the Masters after shooting a 1-under 71 on Saturday, putting him one round away from winning his first career major title.
On what is traditionally considered ‘Moving Day’ at the Masters, few players made a serious run at Scheffler, who started the day with a five-shot lead. But by day’s end, they didn’t need to make a run.
Scheffler brought the field back into contention with three bogeys in a four-hole span on the back nine, along with a near-disastrous finish at 18 that left him with a three-shot lead entering Sunday’s final round.
Scheffler had just pushed his lead back to four shots after a birdie at the 17th. He hooked his tee shot on 18 well into the trees on the left side, which prompted a search for the ball. His ball was surrounded by branches and Scheffler discussed his options with a rules official.
He decided to take an unplayable lie and a drop, which put him playing his third shot off pine straw about 250 yards away from the green. Scheffler hit a beautiful long iron off the straw and reached the green, but it rolled off the back edge, leaving him that for par. He chose to putt off the fringe and rolled it to about three feet and made an incredible bogey.
Scheffler could have asserted complete control over the tournament after a great front nine in which he made four birdies and built a six-shot lead.
Instead, Cameron Smith will play with Scheffler on Sunday after shooting a 4-under 68 and finishing three shots back. He was the only player to make a significant run, as he started the day six shots back of the former Longhorns All-American.
Also in contention is Sungjae Im at 4-under, former Masters champion Charl Schwartzel at 2-under and Shane Lowry at 2-under. There are two players at 1-under — Justin Thomas and Corey Conners.
Scheffler is trying to become the fifth straight player to turn a five-shot 36-hole lead into a green jacket. The list of players that have done it before include Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and fellow Longhorn Jordan Spieth, who held the 36-hole lead on his way to his 2015 championship.
It was not an easy day for the field. It was chilly, winds remained steady and the greens firmed up as the round continued. By the end of the third round there were just seven players under par and the stroke average was the fourth toughest in any round since 1983.
Scheffler played with an utter unflappability on the front nine, playing in the final group with Schwartzel. He also continued his mastery of Augusta National’s risk-reward par-5s. After going 4-under-par on those par-5s on Friday, Scheffler birdied three of them on Saturday, but his bogey at the par-5 15th was his first on a par-5 all tournament.
His lead tightened up, starting with a troublesome tee shot on the 155-yard par-3 12th hole, the last leg of the famed ‘Amen Corner.’ He put his tee shot in the front bunker and then rolled his bunker shot past the hole and onto the fringe. He putted from there and managed a bogey. At the time he fell to 10-under for the tournament and saw his lead shrink to four shots over Cameron Smith.
Briefly, Scheffler’s lead fell to three shots after Smith played the 15th hole perfectly and made a birdie. Smith moved to 7-under-par while Scheffler was preparing to play his second shot on the par-5 13th. Scheffler pushed his lead back out to four shots with a birdie at the 13th, and it ballooned back to five as Smith bogeyed the par-3 16th.
With Scheffler back to 11-under and up five shots, he squandered a chance to maintain or build on that lead. On the par-4 14th, his second shot was just short of the green, and his pitch nearly holed out. But the ball ended up eight feet above the cup and Scheffler’s par putt burned the right edge.
At 15, Scheffler played cautiously and his third shot found the green, but above the hole, leaving him about 30 feet for birdie. His birdie attempt got away from him, picked up speed and missed the hole by about 10 feet. Scheffler even ran up quickly to mark the ball so it wouldn’t ease further away. He missed the par and dropped to 9-under for the tournament, bringing Smith back within three shots. By then, Smith was in the clubhouse.
He bounced back with a two-putt par at the par-3 16th, and then followed that with a birdie at the par-4 17th, the result of a beautiful approach shot that set up a four-foot putt.
Scheffler started the day at 8-under and birdied the par-5 second and the par-3 third. Even the bogey at the fourth proved to be more of a speed bump at the time. He missed the five-foot par putt but made up for it with birdies at No. 6 and No. 8, the latter of which pushed him to 11-under and gave him a six-shot lead. He wrapped up the front nine with a par at the par-4 ninth.
Scheffler has never won a major championship, but he has finished in the Top 10 of the last three majors and has won three of his last five starts on the PGA Tour. His last victory, at the World Golf Championships Match Play, allowed him to move to No. 1 in the world rankings. If he wins the Masters, he’ll be the first player to make the Masters his first win after becoming the world’s No. 1 since Ian Woosnam did it in 1991.
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.
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