CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA | After two star-starved, narrative-challenged days at Quail Hollow Club, Scottie Scheffler arrived just in time on Saturday to change everything about this PGA Championship.
Looking every bit the part of the top-ranked golfer in the world, Scheffler put himself in position to win his third major championship, building a three-stroke lead over Alex Noren with 18 holes remaining.
On a Saturday that began with a weather delay and ended in golden sunshine, Scheffler methodically untangled Quail Hollow’s challenges, shooting a third-round 65 that included seven birdies and an eagle from three feet on the drivable par-4 14th that seemed to thunder across the lake that defines much of Quail Hollow’s finish.
“I just battled really hard out there,” Scheffler said. “The greens were firming up, the wind was really gusting.”
As if to drive home who he is and what he’s doing, Scheffler birdied the difficult 17th and 18th holes to extend his lead and set up a Sunday that may have his name on it.
“I wanted to finish off the round the right way,” he said.
Through three rounds, Scheffler has played Quail Hollow’s last five holes in a combined 7-under par including a mudball double bogey on the 16th on Thursday.
As for starting Sunday with a three-stroke lead, Scheffler will have a simple approach.
“More good golf,” he said. “Continue to do what I’m doing. Do the best that I can do.”
On a leaderboard that has been filled with unexpected names, Noren sitting closest to Scheffler may be the most surprising. The 42-year-old Swede is making just his second start of the year after dealing with a serious hamstring injury in his leg that had him spending much of his time coaching his daughter’s softball team.
His Saturday 66, which culminated with birdies on the 17th and 18th holes, put him in Sunday’s final pairing with Scheffler.
“It was a lot easier to have this break when I’m 42 than when I was younger,” said Noren, who has won 10 times on the DP World Tour but never on the PGA Tour. “As soon as I kind of could play, I thought I was in sort of the same form I was in before I got injured. But I’m still extremely – not surprised, but I’m fortunate to be in this position this early.”
For a brief moment Saturday, three players shared the lead – Scheffler, Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau – adding just the right major championship feel to an event that finally found its footing when the weather finally cleared.
When DeChambeau birdied the 15th hole, he had the outright lead. He climbed the hill to the 16th tee fist-bumping fans and rekindling memories of what happened at Pinehurst, about 100 miles away, 11 months ago.
But a bogey at 16 and a jarring double-bogey at the watery par-3 17th left DeChambeau five off the lead with one round remaining.
“All I can do is control what I can control and if I go out and shoot 6-, 7-under, that’s what I’m focused on doing. Not that that’s what’s going to do it, but you never know. But I’m going to shoot as low as I possibly can,” DeChambeau said.
Rahm raced into contention with a Saturday 67 that put him in position to challenge for his third major victory with 18 holes remaining.
“I mean, hard to express how hungry I may be for a major, about as hungry as anybody can be in this situation,” Rahm said.
Rory McIlroy’s bumpy week added another twist Saturday morning when the reigning Masters champion was walking toward the first tee for his early morning tee time when a horn sounded suspending play due to dangerous weather in the area.
McIlroy barked his displeasure at the delay and it didn’t help that his tee time was eventually moved back five hours, costing him a chance to play early before gusty afternoon winds arrived.
After multiple reports that McIlroy’s driver had failed to pass a pre-tournament inspection, forcing him to use a back-up on short notice, the PGA of America issued a statement Saturday morning that did not specifically mention McIlroy but made it clear the reports were accurate. McIlroy did not stop to comment for the third consecutive day.
“The results are kept confidential to protect players who are unaware the club has fallen out of conformance and not responsible for it falling out of conformance other than hitting it thousands of times,” Kerry Haigh, chief championship officer for the PGA of America, said in a statement. “Players are simply asked to change heads if necessary, all do without issue. To publicly identify players whose clubs did not conform can lead to that player being questioned unnecessarily. Neither the USGA nor the PGA of America have any concerns about player intent.”