After a torrid finish to his third round, Scheffler is in full control of the year’s second major. Can anyone make it a contest on Sunday?
— As the ball sailed through the air, Scottie Scheffler’s shuffling feet froze in their place. He watched his parabola of a tee shot reach its apex before landing exactly where it needed to — just short of the 14th green, bounding forward then rolling onto the surface like a putt.
From 304 yards away, Scheffler had placed the ball 2 feet, 9 inches from the hole. The ensuing eagle putt was a formality that tied him for the lead at 8-under, but it might as well have served as a flashing billboard around Quail Hollow Country Club that announced one of professional golf’s maxims over the past two years: Scottie Scheffler is inevitable.
For the first two days at the PGA Championship, an eclectic leaderboard featured several unexpected names. But when Scheffler eagled 14 on Saturday and followed it up with birdies on 15, 17 and 18 to get to 11-under and secure the outright 54-hole lead by three shots, it was as if the laws of gravity were once again true. Even this major, as unique and perplexing as it was for 36-plus holes, had to eventually find its center.
“I try to focus as much as I can on executing the shot, and there’s things out there that you can’t control”, Scheffler said. “I can’t control what other guys are doing. I can’t control getting bad wind gusts. I can’t control how the ball is going to react when it hits the green. All I can do is try to hit the shot I’m trying to hit. That’s what I’m focused on out there. Some days it works better than others.”
While Scheffler crescendoed into the lead, his inevitability felt strengthened by the fact that others began to fade. Quail Hollow’s arduous Green Mile stretch took its share of contenders for a spin, handing Jon Rahm a bogey on 17 while tainting Bryson DeChambeau’s round with a double bogey on that same hole.
“I’m three back with one round to go in a major championship”, DeChambeau said when he finished his round. “So, I can’t complain too much.”
“I’m assuming I’ll be at least one shot back starting tomorrow”, two-time major winner Rahm said after getting to 6-under on Saturday. “But that’s a great position.”
The only problem was that the No.1 player in the world still had more holes to play, and Scheffler cruised through the Green Mile in 2-under.
