Scottie Scheffler is seemingly heading for another major championship win this season, boasting a four-shot lead at The Open heading into the final round.
Scheffler was tipped to win The Open Championship, and that is a scenario that now looks likely to play out on Sunday.
He heads into round four of The Open on 14-under, with Haotong Li second on 10-under and Matt Fitzpatrick third on nine-under.
Also in contention is home favourite Rory McIlroy, who is one of four players tied for fourth place on eight-under.
But it is all about Scheffler, who is closing in on a fourth career major championship win at Royal Portrush.
Scottie Scheffler warned The Open is not over despite four-shot lead
His fellow professional Marc Leishman thinks Scheffler can reach 20-under, but Rex Hoggard has now issued a warning as to why the leader shouldn’t get ahead of himself.
Asked on the Golf Channel Podcast with Rex and Lav if he thinks it’s over, he replied: “I don’t feel like it’s over because it is still links golf.
“Scottie Scheffler is doing so many things well. You look at his iron play and it is just sublime. I don’t know how many stats we can throw at it or throw out there and how many strokes he is picking up on the field with his irons.
“We knew going into it on Wednesday that approach play was going to be crucial, Shane Lowry when he won here in 2019 was first in the field in greens in regulation.
“And then you add in how well he is putting. He is top 10 for strokes gained putting. I just think you put those things together and it makes it difficult to catch him.
“I say that with the caveat and the big fat asterisks I have to put on here. You put a check mark next to this one and it’s his driving. He has gotten away with some wayward drives.
“Yes, everything he is doing is impressive but he has had the occasional loose shot and has put himself in a position where you thought he could make the occasional big number but he has always been able to recover.
“I think there is always the possibility that happens tomorrow and he gives two or maybe even three strokes back and suddenly you start looking at the leaderboard and it’s Matt Fitzpatrick or Haotong Li or even Rory McIlroy could all go out and do something special.
“The forecast for tomorrow looks about as good as it does today, but I would say that if you are a chaser that is probably your best case scenario.”
Scottie Scheffler scoring stats at The Open at Royal Portrush so far
It would be very brave to go against Scheffler, who really does look in formidable form once more this week.
Yes, his driving has left a lot to be desired on occasion, but as Hoggard mentioned, he’s somehow managed to find a way to recover despite the challenging nature of the course.
Royal Portrush has challenged some of the very best this week, with the wind and rain simply complicating matters.
But every other aspect of Scheffler’s game has been almost perfect, with the American remarkably carding just three bogeys thus far.
| Stat | Total | Rank |
| Eagles | 1 | T6 |
| Birdies | 15 | T2 |
| Pars | 35 | T32 |
| Bogeys | 3 | T1 |
There’s a reason he’s world number one at this moment in time, and a reason why he’s heading for his fourth major win in four years.
Success at Royal Portrush would leave Scheffler needing to win just the US Open to complete the grand slam, which would be a stunning feat at this stage of his career.
But that will be the last thing on his mind right now, with the American undoubtedly fully focused on the task at hand on Sunday.
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