Scheffler rebounds from late double to keep hattrick bid on track on Houston
Scottie Scheffler could not believe his tee shot had just spun back into the water at the 15th in the third round of the Texas Children's Open
Scottie Scheffler bounced back from a painful double-bogey with back-to-back birdies to finish in a five-way tie for the lead heading into the final round of the Texas Children's Houston Open.
The world number one carded a four-under 66 to share top spot with England's David Skinns (65), Germany's Stephan Jaeger (66), Belgium's Thomas Detry (67) and Argentina's Alejandro Tosti (68) on nine-under-par at Memorial Park.
According to statistics guru Justin Ray, Scheffler has been imperious when it comes to taking the lead after any round of a PGA TOUR event over the last three seasons.
He's led 33 times, with Rory McIlroy the next best with 18 leads, followed by Jon Rahm with 17 and Wyndham Clark with 14.
Scheffler is trying to become the first player since 2017 to win three consecutive PGA TOUR starts.
Dustin Johnson did it then, winning the Genesis Open, the WGC Mexico Open and the WGC Dell Technologies Match Play.
But if Scheffler wins today, he will become the first man to win three strokeplay starts in a row since McIlroy won The Open, the WGC Bridgestone Invitational and the PGA Championship in that magical summer of 2014.
The leading quintet is one ahead of Nick Dunlap, Taylor Moore, and Akshay Bhatia with halfway leader Tony Finau a shot further back on seven under alongside Max Greyserman, England's Aaron Rai, and Chad Ramey after a 72.
Scheffler is clearly the most accomplished player at the top of the leaderboard and a ninth PGA TOUR win looks inevitable if he shows the resilience he displayed last night.
"What are you gonna do?"
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 30, 2024
Scottie Scheffler was at a loss for words after his tee shot at No. 15. pic.twitter.com/Rj8efsKW8r
After a bogey at the 13th, he was nine-under, four-under for the day, with four holes to play when his tee shot at the 121-yard 15th landed near the pin, spun back down the green, caught a steep slope, and trickled into the water some 20 yards from where it pitched.
Incredulous, he turned to his caddie and said: "What are you going to do?”
Scheffler responded with a two-putt birdie at the 553-yard 16th, where he hit a stellar four-iron to the green, and added another birdie at the 17th, where he hit a 154-yard approach to four feet.
Coming off wins at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and The Players, Scheffler has the wind in his sails, but he's taking nothing for granted.
"Winning the last two doesn't help me do anything tomorrow," said Scheffler, who went out in three-under 32 and picked up further shots at the 10th and 12th to get to 10-under.
"I think it's going to be another pretty challenging day out there with high winds. Stick to my process and control what I can control out there."
As for his water ball at the 15th, he took that in his stride too, despite his incredulity at the result of what looked like another good shot.
"I didn't expect it to spin back, I didn't expect it to spin back off the green and I didn't expect it to be in the water," he added later.
His co-leaders are not in his league, but all have points to prove.
Tosti is trying to become the fourth rookie to win this season, while Skinns is seeking his first win at 42.
Jaeger (34) is also seeking his maiden PGA Tour win and his first since he captured his sixth Korn Ferry Tour victory in 2020.
Rosario native Tosti (27) is also looking for his first PGA Tour win, as is Detry (31), who has made 151 appearances on the DP World Tour and racked up five runner-up finishes but no victories.
Meanwhile, Leona Maguire followed Friday's 65 with a one-under 71 to go into the final round of the Ford Championship six shots off the lead on nine-under.
Spain's Carlota Ciganda made two eagles in a six-under 66 at Seville Golf and Country Club in Arizona to share the lead with Korea's Hyo Joo Kim (69) and Sarah Schmelzel (70) on 15-under, one ahead of Sweden's Maja Stark and Japan's Yuka Saso.
