While on paper Scottie Scheffler may have just a little too much ground to make up on the final day of the Players Championship, those ahead of the world number one on the leaderboard will not be foolish enough to write him off just yet.
Scottie Scheffler reached the halfway mark of the Players Championship six shots off the lead after continuing to struggle to hit the astronomical heights of 2024 this season. But with the winds set to play a huge factor over the weekend, many would have expected the 28-year-old to be on the charge at TPC Sawgrass.
As it happens, Scheffler’s position remains largely unchanged after day three. He shot a 72 to stay tied for 16th, while the gap to the leader has grown to seven shots.
Scheffler began the final round of the 2024 Players Championship five shots back of the lead – having made three birdies in his final three holes of the third round – before going on to win by one. So it would certainly be dangerous to write off his chances of doing something miraculous.
Scottie Scheffler outlines his plan for the final day at the Players Championship
But speaking after Saturday’s round, Scheffler appeared to concede that he would need something extremely special to make it three wins on the spin at Sawgrass.
“We’ll see. It was a tough finish for me. I felt like I did some good things there towards the end and just the shots weren’t going exactly where I thought they were going to. Hit some really nice shots that didn’t end up where I thought they should have, and frustrating finish, but we’ll see,” he said.
“You never know. Maybe do something crazy tomorrow. You’ve got guys shooting some pretty low numbers this week. So going into tomorrow, just try and get off to a good start and go from there.”
“Well, I think you need to let off a little bit of steam at times,” he added, when asked about getting frustrated. “A good example today on 15, I had 139 hole, hit a 125 shot that landed 139, the thing barely goes over the green. It was couple yards from having a great look at birdie. Ended up making a bogey there on 16 after a bad tee shot.
“Get to 17, it’s 47 pin. I hit the exact same shot and the ball carries almost 20 yards shorter than it did two holes before, exact same wind. Then we get to 18, I’ve got 134 pin, I hit a 120 shot, and it carries over 140 yards.
“So it’s just one of those deals where it’s challenging with the wind, and maybe I was a touch off out there and it exaggerated some of those misses or maybe the winds were that gusty and stuff happened.
But at the end of the day, put up a good fight. Just looking to just get off to a better start tomorrow and hopefully make some stuff happen.”
Scheffler was then asked whether there was much he learnt from playing in the conditions on Saturday as he looks to make another dramatic comeback.
“Not really, to be honest with you. I’ve played this course in some pretty heavy winds before. This was actually not the worst wind that I’ve played it in. I think it was maybe three or four years ago we had that one day where it was blowing gusts over 40, close to 50 miles an hour,” he said.
“It’s just a tough golf course, and the areas are small to hit it in, especially when it gets this windy they get even smaller. It was challenging. But put up a good fight, and I’m looking to go the same tomorrow.”
The gamble which backfired for Scottie Scheffler on Saturday at Sawgrass
Scheffler had boasted a blemish-free scorecard over the first 11 holes of the day, making two birdies up until that stage. However, his first dropped shot would come on the 12th as he found the water.
His game around the green has improved dramatically over the last 12 months. And of course, his decision-making has helped separate him from his rivals on the PGA Tour.
However, his decision on 12 came back to haunt him as he went into the water. And when asked about that moment, Scheffler suggested that rolling the dice came back to haunt him.
“I was in the pine straw and it looked like it was going to come off soft and it came out like a flier. The ball didn’t even have a chance of staying on the green,” he said.
“It was a shot where I was taking on a little bit of risk trying to get the ball up on to the green, and the pitch from the right side of the green is not really that easy, either.
“I felt like taking on a little bit of risk, and this time I paid the price for it.”
It does appear that Scheffler may have just a little too much to do if he is going to join Jack Nicklaus as a three-time winner of the event this week. But if he is able to get on a bit of a charge on Sunday – which he showed at the WM Phoenix Open that he is very much able to do – then the hurdles placed in front of the likes of J.J. Spaun and Bud Cauley will feel just that little bit larger.
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