AUGUSTA, Ga. – Scottie Scheffler doesn’t often show emotion because he doesn’t really have to. He’s robotically impressive, and celebrates with minimal flare because – as he said Tuesday – golf does not define him. It’s just what he does.
But Saturday at Augusta National, Scheffler pumped his fist three times after a lengthy eagle on the par-5 13th. He fist-pumped again after a birdie on the tricky par-4 18th, too. That gave him a one-shot lead heading into Sunday’s finale at the Masters.
As he’s done so often, Scheffler seized a big moment. He showed emotion because this tournament means plenty to him. He called Augusta National, “the mecca” in his pre-tournament press conference. Those putts falling weren’t just good circles on the scorecard, they were opportunities captured.
After a 1-under 71 in the third round, Scheffler will head into the final round of the 88th Masters alongside Collin Morikawa in the tournament’s final pairing. Twenty-eight of the last 33 winners of the Masters have been in the final group on Sunday – so it’s a darn good place to be.
“Proud of how I played today. It was a good fight out there,” Scheffler said.
A winner twice already this season – Scheffler very nearly won a third time, falling just one shot back of a playoff at the Texas Children’s Houston Open – he is looking to add a second Green Jacket to his collection.
Scheffler has not shot an over-par round in competition since Aug. 26 of last year and is used to being in this particular position. Saturday marked his 11th career 54-hole lead or co-lead in stroke-play events on the PGA Tour – the most of anyone on tour since he joined at the start of the 2019-20 campaign.
Scheffler said he did a good job of staying patient through a difficult Saturday where birdies were at a premium.
“The golf course was extremely challenging. The greens were very firm, very fast, and it was extremely difficult again today. So probably looking for more of the same tomorrow,” Scheffler said.
Scheffler’s 1-under effort was one of just 12 under-par rounds Saturday. He’s shown how impressive his whole game is this week, and how gritty he needs to be when it comes to holding on tight. His usual top-tier ball-striking hasn’t been nearly what it normally is, hitting only 63 per cent of his greens in regulation this week versus his normal clip of 76 per cent.
“It was very challenging out there. But it’s a major championship. I don’t think Augusta wants their golf course to be very easy,” Scheffler said, smiling to a club member in a green jacket hosting his post-round press conference, who smiled back to Scheffler.
Before Scheffler won the 2022 Masters, he admitted to having a heaving cry alongside his wife, Meredith. She gave him a pep talk and he won the tournament. Scheffler said Saturday that while he had a good night sleep prior to the final round that year, the magnitude of how much their lives had changed over the previous three months was really hitting him that Sunday morning.
This year he doesn’t have his wife alongside, as she is expecting their first child in just a few weeks. He was sharing a house with Sam Burns, who missed the cut, and a few of his long-time pals have filled the void. They’ll order some food and play cards Saturday before Scheffler will have as normal a morning Sunday as possible, including, this time, a phone call to his wife.
“Our lives were changing at a very rapid pace,” Scheffler said of two years ago. “Now I think we have settled more into where our lives are at, and right now the most exciting thing is not winning the Masters, it’s the baby coming pretty soon.“
He repeated that if Meredith goes into labour at any point in the next 24 hours, he’ll fly home to be with her.
Assuming that doesn’t happen, it’ll be time to try to go win the Masters.
Max Homa sits third at 5 under through three rounds. He hasn’t made a birdie in 32 holes, but at just two shots back, he is grinding – and firmly in the mix.
Homa and Ludvig Aberg (4 under) – who is not only making his Masters debut, but also his major-championship debut – will be the penultimate pairing.
Bryson DeChambeau, who hit it in the trees with his drive on 18 but punched out and knocked his third-shot wedge into the hole for the most unlikely of birdies, sits fifth alone at 3 under.
As for the Canadian content, the duo that made the cut struggled Saturday.
Adam Hadwin shot a 10-over 82, his first round in the 80s on the PGA Tour since the U.S. Open in 2020 (he shot 80 in the fourth round). The Canadian tied – Tiger Woods, amongst others – for the worst round of the day.
Corey Conners shot his second straight 4-over 76. He was behind the 8-ball early, making a double bogey on the par-5 second. Overall, Conners said he’s good at being able to hit the reset button – especially early in the round – and while he bounced back with a birdie on No. 3 and a nifty up-and-down on No. 4, he bogeyed three of his next five holes, and three of his final five holes. He did, however, birdie Nos. 11-13, becoming the first Canadian since Mike Weir in 2005 to birdie all three holes of Amen Corner.
Nothing really went his way, he said.
“It was a challenging day. The course got a little baked out. I got myself in some tricky spots and wasn’t able to make the saving putts,” Conners said. “Probably in my experience here, it was probably the firmest day with the way that the greens were.
“It’s just kind of a weird day. I felt like I hit a lot of quality shots. Just didn’t really get anything out of them.”
Conners will be grouped with multi-time major champion Brooks Koepka for Sunday’s finale, while Hadwin will go off with 2000 Masters champion Vijay Singh.
