Scottie Scheffler diluted a bunker shot in the water.
He pulled a ramp that hit a tree trunk and ricocheted out of bounds.
He three-putted his final hole.
And yet Scheffler still leads the Memorial Tournament by four shots through 54 holes at Muirfield Village as the world No. 1 looks to win for the fifth time this year, first since the RBC Heritage in early April.
“Overall I think I’ve been playing pretty solid, I’ve just had a couple of bad breaks and that’s going to happen on this golf course,” said Scheffler, whose 1-under 71 moved him to 10 under, four ahead of Collin Morikawa (68). Sepp Straka (68) and Adam Hadwin (72). “I mean, the golf course is really challenging. You’re not always going to get good breaks, you’re not always going to get good lies.
Scheffler, who led by three shots after two rounds, birdied two of his first four holes on Saturday. He then hit his second shot on the par-5 fifth into a bunker about 45 yards from the hole and caught his third shot “a little thin,” sending Scheffler’s ball over the green and into the penalty area. He went on to bogey and played the four par-5s into a combined even par.
After bouncing back with a birdie at the sixth, Scheffler found himself in more trouble at the par-4 ninth. Scheffler called the drive a “slight jerk” that would have landed about 50 feet off the fairway had it not hit a tree trunk, sending the ball out of bounds and leading to a triple bogey.
“I was just frustrated,” Scheffler said. “It was like I felt like I hadn’t hit many shots at all offline today, and I had a triple on my card, and all of a sudden I was 1 over par. So I was definitely frustrated with the break, but overall I’m like, I’m still swinging it really well, I didn’t have to change anything, I just had to stay in the right frame of mind.
Once again Scheffler recovered with a birdie. He would also add birdies at Nos. 12 and 15. A three-putt from 60 feet at No. 18 soured his last nine, but only slightly – and it did little to change the fact that Scheffler is an overwhelming favorite (-450 ) on our way to Sunday at Jack’s Place.
Scheffler has turned each of his past four 54-hole solo leads on Tour into wins after starting his career 1 for 4.
“I don’t really change anything,” Scheffler said. “I’m going to go out tomorrow and try to play a good round of golf, keep my head down and stay in my own little world out there. I’m not really going to pay attention to what anyone else is doing out there, I’m just going to do my best.”
As Saturday proved, it might not even be his best effort.
“He’s way above the No. 1 player in the world in my opinion, especially after seeing today,” Hadwin said. “Obviously there are a few holes where some things didn’t go his way, but the way he started and the way he hit the ball and the shape of the shots…
“I mean, I don’t expect him to lose this golf tournament.”
