PGA TourBrian KeoghTexas Children's Houston Open., Scottie Scheffler, Tony Finau, Padraig Harrington

Scheffler's sub par run ends at 28 rounds with careless three-putt in Houston

PGA TourBrian KeoghTexas Children's Houston Open., Scottie Scheffler, Tony Finau, Padraig Harrington
Scheffler's sub par run ends at 28 rounds with careless three-putt in Houston

Scottie Scheffler lips out from 22 inches for bogey on the 18th at Memorial Park

Scottie Scheffler proved he's human after all when he three-putted from six feet at the 18th and saw his streak of 28 consecutive sub-par rounds end with a careless three-putt in the Texas Children's Houston Open.

The world number one mixed five birdies with three bogeys in his first 17 holes at Memorial Park and had a six-footer for a two-under 68 that would have left him just two shots behind clubhouse leader Tony Finau.

But he lipped out with his par putt and then lipped out again as he casually walked around to brush in his 22-inch bogey putt.

It all added up to a double-bogey six and a level par 70 that left Scheffler tied for fourth on five-under, four behind Finau, who shot a course record-equalling 62 to lead by two shots from Alejandro Tosti and by three from Thomas Detry on nine-under.

"I felt like I battled pretty hard today," Scheffler said. "It was pretty challenging out there with the wind, yeah."
Asked if he had a lapse of concentration, he joked: "No, I do that all the time. You watch me a lot, so that happens a lot to me."

He added: "No, yeah, frustrating lapse in judgment there. You never really know what's going to be up there around the cup on 18.

"Yeah, just hit something and knocked the second one offline. Felt like I hit a good putt on the first one, maybe went just barely through the break so obviously it was a bit frustrating hitting a good putt and it not going in.

"Second one, I guess I just hit a little fast and didn't see a spike mark there."

Scheffler, who famously four-putted the 72nd hole at the Masters and still won by three from Rory McIlroy, was clearly frazzled after a windy afternoon in Houston.

"I think the conditions were extremely challenging," he said. "The wind was blowing very, very hard and the tough part was how gusty it was.

"If you took an average wind speed, it probably wouldn't have been that crazy, but when it's gusting from 10 to 30 all day, it makes everything you're doing out there pretty challenging."

The Texan, who is bidding for a PGA Tour hat-trick of wins, is in a six-way tie for fourth with Chad Ramey, Stephan Jaeger, Taylor Moore, Akshay Batia, and Joe Highsmith.

Having won the Arnold Palmer Invitational and The Players, he did not dismiss the theory that he might be fatigued and a little rusty after taking a week off.

"I think it's a combination of both," he said. I think mentally doing my best to stay in it. I think that's why sometimes you see stuff like that happen on 18. That's mental fatigue. That's really all that is, just a lapse in judgment.

"I did my best to get some rest last week. I feel rested right now. I'm obviously a touch frustrated with how I finished, but overall, I'm still in the middle of the tournament."

On a day when Pádraig Harrington hit just four fairways and again lost shots on the greens, carding a 74 to finish three shots outside the cut line on four-over, Finau’s eight-under, course-record equalling round was just what he needed.

He won a November staging of the Houston Open in the 2022-23 season and went on to win again in Mexico 12 months ago.

Since then, he’s fallen to 30th in the world due to erratic driving and even more mediocre putting.

But after making a subtle putting change after struggling with the blade en route to an opening 69, he gained nearly four shots on the greens on the morning wave to lead by four shots in the clubhouse from Chad Ramey on nine-under.

“It’s nice to have my coach out here, Boyd Summerhays,” Finau said of his putting transformation. “He noticed a little setup change that he mentioned might help. I’d say it definitely helped today.”

Playing at a course where he’s won is also a help as he looks to retain the title,

“Overall, it’s a place that I have great memories coming back to,” he said. “I get great support here from the fans. It is pressure, but I look forward to coming back and defending any title that I win.”

As for Harrington, the Dubliner followed an opening par with four bogeys in a row and while he made three birdies, he also made three more bogeys and found just nine greens in regulation and only one fairway on his back nine as a 74 left him three shots outside the cut mark.

On the DP World Tour, former world amateur number one Keita Nakajima fired a second successive, seven-under 65 to take a two-stroke lead into the weekend at the weather-delayed Hero Indian Open.

The Japanese star (23) made eight birdies and an eagle at DLF Golf & Country Club to lead on 14-under-par.

Nakajima raced six strokes clear with seven birdies on his first 11 holes, but saw his lead cut as he carded three bogeys in a row from the 14th.

The four-time Japan Golf Tour winner rallied to finish birdie-eagle on the Gary Player Course to lead by two shots from Frenchman Romain Langasque, who shot his second 66 on the trot.

Italy’s Matteo Manassero, who returned to the winner's circle for the first time in 11 years at the Jonsson Workwear Open in South Africa earlier this month, lies a shot further back after making two eagles in a 68.

France’s Jeong Weon Ko finished just before the suspension for lightning, carding a 67 that left him tied for fourth with Dutchman Joost Luiten, who has three holes of his second round still to complete.

On the LPGA Tour, Leona Maguire made eight birdies and a bogey in a seven-under 65 to move up to 28th in the Ford Championship in Arizona.

At eight-under par, she's six strokes behind Australia's Hannah Green, who shot a career-low 11-under 61 to take a one-shot lead into the weekend at Seville Golf and Country Club.

Stephanie Meadow shot a second consecutive 72 to miss the five-under par cut by five shots.