Scottie Scheffler in Total Control – 2024 Memorial Tournament Round 3 | The First Cut Podcast

Rick Gehman and Greg DuCharme recap Saturday at Muirfield Village and set you up for the final round.

0:00 Intro
1:07 The Morning Roller Coaster: Shane Lowry and Sungjae Im
5:58 Adam Hadwin’s second straight even par round + Viktor Hovland’s sideways back 9
11:17 Collin Morikawa and Sepp Straka card bogey free 68’s
15:23 Scottie Scheffler. In control.
22:57 Betting Favorites (and the non-Scottie market)

#golf #pgatour #golfoncbs #firstcutpodcast #thememorialtournament #GolfDFS #golfpicks #dailyfantasysports #PGADFS

—
SUBSCRIBE TO THIS CHANNEL: https://youtube.com/FirstCutPodcast

Get your First Cut merch here: https://paramountshop.com/collections/the-first-cut-golf

AUDIO
‘First Cut’ is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts and wherever else you listen to podcasts.

You can listen to First Cut on your smart speakers! Simply say “Alexa, play the latest episode of The First Cut Golf podcast” or “Hey Google, play the latest episode of The First Cut Golf podcast.”

-LISTEN to First Cut on your preferred podcast platform: https://plnk.to/TheFirstCut
-LEAVE a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2VOeKVW
-STREAM on Spotify: https://sptfy.com/firstcut
-SUBSCRIBE to CBS Sports variety of other podcasts: https://cbssports.com/podcast
VIDEO

-WATCH CBS Sports HQ: https://cbssports.com/live

-SUBSCRIBE to CBS Sports HQ on YouTube: https://youtube.com/c/CBSSportsHQ/
WEBSITE

-READ top-notch golf content from CBS Sports: https://cbssports.com/golf/

SOCIAL MEDIA
-FOLLOW First Cut on Twitter: https://twitter.com/FirstCutPod
-FOLLOW First Cut on Instagram: https://instagram.com/firstcutpod/
-FOLLOW Golf on CBS on Twitter: https://twitter.com/GolfonCBS
-FOLLOW Golf on CBS on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/golfoncbs/
-FOLLOW Golf on CBS on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@golfoncbs?lang=en

ABOUT THE SHOW: The First Cut brings you everything you need to know in the world of professional golf. Nearly every day Rick Gehman, Kyle Porter, Mark Immelman, Greg DuCharme, Sia Nejad and Patrick McDonald bring you the best analysis in the game. From DFS to betting previews, interviews and recaps… everything golf is on the table when you listen to The First Cut.

[Music] freaking first cut [Music] golly what welcome to the first cup podcast I’m Rick gon and this is your round three recap for this week’s Memorial joining me to break it all down it’s Greg duch hey GRE what’s going on Rick uh quite a quite a day a roller coaster of a day out at mirfield Village a lot of action we saw some ho out Eagles we saw some doubles and triples and everything in between so yeah it was it was quite a day out there well we saw it all and let’s just start with uh the early roller coaster from Shane Lowry who got this thing started immediately by hauling out from 194 yards on number one for Eagle that would not be his only hole out for Eagle on the day in fact he did it again on 14 from 119 yards and then Greg as if that wasn’t enough uh he HED out on seven no where did he chip in on I I believe I I thought it was seven as well um seven one two three yeah he chipped it hold out from the bunker on seven that’s right hold out from the bunker so that is eagle from the Fairway over 190 yards eagle from the Fairway over a 100 yards hole out from the bunker for birdie that’s that’s pretty solid it’s a 68 done yes uh and thankfully he had some of those hole outs look this was a little bit of a wild day for Shane Lowry right it was not Fairways and greens and make a make a bunch of putts for 68 obviously you mentioned the hole outs the one on number one was from 195 yards it was just perfect he didn’t have much of an angle kind of had to thread the needle and it ends up dropping which was beautiful but um all in all this day was kind of shaky uh it was kind of wild it was kind of hanging on and it’s just another emotion filled crazy round of golf from Shane Lowry but but all in all it was it was pretty good stuff and it’s great to turn in the second best round of the day with 68 the round of the day goes to sunj IM who shot a 67 now he shot a 76 in round one he was five shots better in round two that’s a 71 he was four shots better in round three Greg that obviously means he is going to be three shots better in round four and he is going shoot a 64 tomorrow he will shoot 64 tomorrow that is confirmed that would put him at uh that would be let’s see 11 under so he still probably won’t win uh but it will be quite a charge uh look th this day from Sun JM was impressive in a in a lot of ways um he drove the ball really nicely I think he he was pretty good with his iron play as well but what’s so impressive to me about Sun jm’s round was a short game a number of really good up and downs and you you look at the birdies that he made he gets up and down for birdie at five uh chips in for Eagle at seven gets up and down for birdie at 11 up and down for birdie at 15 uh adds birdies at at 12 and 14 those are wedges he h some really good wedges there uh and and at number four you don’t really have very many options you kind of just got to hit it at the flag and Sun JM excels in that area so adding that birdie there was really nice but to play the par fives in five under around here is absolutely phenomenal and I think looking at the at this leaderboard the way the players have played the par fives has has created uh some separation it’s it’s an interesting aspect to this tournament Sun JM shot the best round of the day 67 making three bogeys including two on the final three holes he also played with Shane Lowry so if you followed that group around this morning if you were tracking that group if you were watching them you got your money worth from those two yes I mean look this this day was not as difficult as it was um in round two it was not as windy uh it didn’t seem as treacherous scoring average was still more than a shot over par so this this round if you’re following just this group you saw a very different golf course than the rest of the field um because they made it look pretty easy with 68 and 67 and there weren’t many groups to turn it in two scores like that there were not there certainly were not we’re going to turn our attention to the later tea times get you the guys who uh are at the top who are going to be vying for this Memorial uh but first we’re going to take a quick break and hear a word from our partners will you need your sports news anywhere we’ve got breaking news to bring you then get your sports anytime you want them big trade news overnight to discuss because we know you need Sports all the time a lot of movement in the rankings this week a legend adds to their legacy we’re bringing you that breaking news right here on HQ CBS Sports HQ anywhere anytime all the time and we’re back Greg there are so many directions I could go with this because of the turbulence and just the the rollover and changing that was happening of this leaderboard let’s start with Adam hadwin uh he C started his second consecutive 72 that was pretty calm by Saturday standards he made an eagle on five a double on 14 and Pars in between so that’s two under back to two over he made a birdie on 15 and a bogie on 18 one under back to even par so just four nonpar scores and after his opening round 66 he has really kept himself in this thing he’s going to head into Sunday in a tie for second yes he’s done some things very nicely um I mean before this round he was doing really well with the shots that you have inside of 150 yards uh and and doing pretty well with his driving accuracy as well I hit nine of 14 Fairways the first two days seemed to hit the right Fairways hit 10 of 14 Fairways today and every time he got inside that 150 yard Mark he was excellent through the first two rounds um in in today’s round there’s kind of this the one double bogey on the card is completely inexcusable he 121 yards out in the middle of the Fairway and lays the S over it you know he comes up like 30 yards short of the green and that’s just extremely disappointing because in order for Adam hadwin to compete on this golf course he’s got to be really smart SM when he’s in the Fairway uh or even if he misses the Fairway on the longer holes where you have you know longer clubs into the greens and he’s got to take advantage of and at least make par when he’s got a short iron or a wedge in his hands it’s one of those areas where he can compete uh and he didn’t do it in in this round that was disappointing the tournament is totally different if he makes a birdie or even a par at number 14 and it was right there for him that being said what Adam hadwin has done so well this week is play those par fives he’s nine under on the par fives for the week he’s played them three under each day uh and and that’s a significantly better than some of the other leaders so he he’s done a a great job on the par fives um hitting some of those long shots even if he can’t get it on the green getting it into the right spots where he can make easy up and downs and add a couple of circles to the scorecard on a on a very difficult golf course yeah as we’ll talk about this lead did come back to him um Scotty shuffler did at one point you know move backwards uh which is which is quite rare and he did it in a big way we’ll talk about that in just a little bit um our defending champion and beautiful boy got off to a really good start here Greg he was two under through seven he picked off birdies on each of the first two par fives and then things went sideways a bogie on eight and then a stretch of golf that started on 11 that went bogy bogy bogey bogy that’s four in a row Birdie on 15 the par five triple on the par 31 16th it was a five over 77 from Victor to move from second to a tie for 14th This was um this was a lot this was not good no it got away from him quickly and he was doing pretty well through the first 10 holes you know the second round for Victor hland he shoots 69 in in that second round and it was vintage Victor hin right he’s hitting Fairways he’s hitting greens he’s flying right at the flag the ball striking looked like Victor hin of old on a very difficult day and it was in a similar Place through the first 10 holes and then it’s uh he he hits his second shot from the Fairway into the creek at 11 ends up making six uh go hits it um into a difficult spot at 12 unable to get it up and down you know one of those difficult flop shots from long of those very shallow greens um that at 13 now the momentum has has gone away from him at 13 he has a pretty basic chip from the Fairway and is unable to get that up and down and then it plugs in the bunker on 14 and it just seemed like things were going from from bad to worse and it was very difficult for Victor to get something right but that being said you know in those four bogey that they’re all kind of when you look at them on their own with the exception of 13 they’re they’re not that bad you know like they can happen any one of those happens during a round a golf it’s golf it’s a hard game but when it’s four in a row it’s it’s maddening because again it they’re not terrible mistakes and Bogies are okay at times when you get it into the wrong spot you just can’t do it ho after hole after ho the way Victor did right yeah it was the um it was the bogey streak that becomes a problem and then of course the disaster with with the triple uh we mentioned Adam hadwin in a tie for second he’s at six under part there are two others tied with him in second four shots off the lead they both shot a four under 68 today let’s start with sep straa who is in the midst of a great here and he put together a bogey free 68 that had a birdie on one and five 14 and 15 and that is it a very clean scorecard for a guy who is um really uh ratcheting up his play the results are coming in I I’m quite impressed with the way that straka has been been playing yeah you think about this um this SE stro around and this is exactly why we were so high on him coming into this week why we really liked him while we talked about him Monday in our DFS show um and may even have him somewhere in the betting card uh Tuesday I I don’t remember if I officially went with him but I’m sure he was on there um and and it’s because of this driving accuracy he hit 12 Fairways the first two rounds the third round he hits 13 and it puts him in this position where he can avoid mistakes he can pick and choose when he’s going to be aggressive and when he’s not and as a result while he only hits 12 Greens in in regulation he’s never in a difficult spot and a lot of these chips are really quite basic uh and and he’s able to get it up and down you’re not seeing the crazy flop shots out of him the um the you know the dramatic opportunities to chip it over a green and Chip it off the green which can happen at mirfield Village when you get in the wrong place so coming from the Fairway you’re able to play smart you’re able to get the ball into the right section of the green even if it’s not all that close and he he didn’t hit it all that close in this round um but didn’t have to and just playing mistake free golf is good enough at mirfield Village if you like one bogy free 68 I’ve got another for you from Colin morawa he did most of his damage on the second ey Bird’s on 12 14 and 15 if you look at the statistical profile Greg it was great throughout 17th off the team seventh on approach sixth around the green and sixth with the putter that is how you gain a lot of Strokes to the field he did EXA yeah it was a simple round right he hits 10 Fairways which is kind of like that magic number you start getting below 10 and trouble seems to pop up uh but at 10 Fairways you’re similar to sep straa in that in that realm where you can control your golf ball and he’s able to hit 14 of 18 greens as a result uh anytime he gets around the green whether it be on a par five or um or or if one of the greens that he does Miss he’s able to get it up and down the short game The Bunker play is all so much better from col morawa and and the putting has been really solid as well so this is another step in the right direction and you know what I really like about what he said after the round he talked about the mentality and you know what what went wrong in the second round where he shot over par it it was simply I was rushing shots you know and that’s a sign that the work that I’m doing technically works you know I don’t have to go to the range and figure something out I got to just get my mind in the right place before I hit each shot I I can’t rush and look in round two obviously he can’t play in the wind and it was windy so it’s very clear I kid I say that tongue and cheek but um but he did mention that he’s rushing shots in that round it was much calmer today and as a result all of his skill sets and and talents and techniques begin to work he said he was trying to time the gusts is what he said yeah that’s why he can’t play the wind it’s in his head that’s yeah it’s not about holding shots up against the wi he just he’s just thinking about it okay uh they are all for back morow SE straka Adam hadman of Scotty sheffler Now Greg if I would have told you that Scotty Sheffer lost two strokes off the T made a bogy on the par five fifth bogie the last and made a triple today uh you would have assumed this was this was not a round that he extended his lead in I would imagine no no probably not but it is mirfield Village and he did make six birdies okay so that is a big separator it’s it’s one under with six birdies which is disappointing but at the same time when you play as many holes as Scotty does to Perfection when there is a mistake you can afford you can afford it you know and the other thing he does so well is he he doesn’t let the mistakes compound he doesn’t let them bother him right he hits at at number nine he dropped a club I I’ve only seen him do it twice this whole year where he hits a shot and drops a club one was yesterday on number 10 he hit it way left dropped the club yelled four I was like I i’ I’ve never seen that from Scot I’ve never heard Scotty talk before right I and he got that up and down um it went out of Bounds at number nine and then he missed the Fairway right ends up Making triple so that was very disappointing but he bounces back with a birdie at 10 one of the hardest holes on the golf course this week just hdden absolute Beauty in there another birdie at 12 another birdie at 15 and that triple is erased and the this is the thing when I’m looking at like Adam hadwin colum morawa they get these shots these opportunities inside a 150 and you have to take advantage of them well Scotty is a little longer so that range kind of extends but inside of 150 he’s the best in the world you know I I almost catch myself saying Adam hadman can compete with Scotty sheffler inside a 150 but it’s not really true it’s not anything against Adam hadwood you know he’s my boy it it’s nobody can he’s the best anytime he gets a short iron or a wedge in his hand it’s it’s close it’s going right at the flag and when he gets the longer shots into the greens he’s really wise he’s really smart and so like when you look through his stats his proximities are really good with the wedges and short irons and they’re they’re not the best in the world from outside of that 150 you know the one the 20 he’s not the best player from outside of 200 yards from a proximity perspective but because of the decision making he doesn’t put squares on the scorecard in that rank he hits the greens from that range and when he gets wedges he hits it at the flag and it’s just it’s perfection in a way that you don’t see very often so this is uh he’s got to clean up the par fives a little bit you know he’s only Adam hadwin’s nine under for the week on par fives Scotty sheffler’s only three and and he’s still leading by uh four on Monday I believe it was we set a line on what Scotty’s T degree number would be this week I think we were hovering between 12 and 15 what did did we actually settle did we settle on a number I think at well at 15 you said under I thought I thought I said 12 you said 12 first and you said it when I don’t know if we decided on one I know you said 12 I said 15 at 15 you said you take the under I think I said I’d take the over um which is looking very wise by you right now he’s leading the field but I’m I’m not going to take my Victory lap just yet because he might do it he’s at he’s at 10 and a half right now uh he has gained 11.2 on approach which is like the sixth most in the shotlink era through three rounds so he has gained three and a half Strokes on approach every day this week so if he does that again that puts him at 14 it’s really the two that he Lo it’s the it’s the OB ball that that is going to is Gonna Keep it makes it close yeah otherwise it’s like it’s it’s over I don’t I don’t think he’s gonna hit it out of bounds oh and also on on five he hit it from the bunker over air mailed the green hit it into the water was that an around the green shot I think do you know how far I it was very close I have it right here it was um well he was 46 yards from the hole I think 40 yards in in is around the green 40 as well yeah so that’s an approach shot yeah so he HD an approach shot into the water G four and a half shots oh my [Laughter] God but those two shots you know you’re trying to get to a total TI to Green number those two shots make a big difference they’re big penalties did I ever tell you how I wanted to do a um I want to do it’s I mean it would be for sickos only but a fantasy league a fantasy league where you start so you start two guys off the te two guys on approach two guys around the green two guys with the putter then maybe you like Flex like a I don’t know like a total number or something like that um where would you even play where would you even play Scotty it’d be so hard because he’d be like well well you have to take his dve you have to take his off the or you have to take his you know something else what would you do pro probably is iron play yeah yeah because it’s so important he’s so reliable with it and I I think other guys can match him off the te because of distance yeah so you you draft like um like like cam champ Scotty sheffler um hii and Denny McCarthy would be like the best like yes team out right just get a lock on the greens a lock off the T because cam champ could hit it terribly and gain Strokes off the te yeah doesn’t matter right just doesn’t even matter what he shoots doesn’t yeah it’s a cool it is for sickos only the problem with what would be fascinating with like the cam Champs is is you make the cut oh yeah so now points for the weekend yeah you got you need four rounds I didn’t even think about that yes so result would be like a little bit of a con are they goingon to make the cut and then are they gonna have a rockstar week in one area oh that’s fascinating yeah yeah SI go only I’ll have to keep chewing on that um all right Josh let’s see what Vegas thinks I’m sure I know what they think and I’m sure it’s minus billion yeah minus 450 for Scotty sheffler lay 450 to win 100 uh nobody else within single digits col morawa the next closest he’s four shots back he’s 11 to one straa also in that uh Trio at uh six under that is 18 to1 Adam hadwin 28 to1 Xander is actually lurking here uh six back 30 to1 ludvig six back 45 to1 and then no one else in the field within 120 to one I this is um of all the love for Scotty sheffler this right here he he ruins this he just ruins it because you can’t play You’re it’s a donation you’re not going to make any money on Scotty at minus 4 50 and it’s a donation to anybody else yeah you should you should not make a bet tonight although I want to see maybe you could do a matchup or something there’s got to be a nons Scotty Market somewhere doesn’t there now that would be a little more interesting I don’t have the odds for it but I I I would be certain that at some point tonight there is going to be a a non Scotty shuffler Market which would be really interesting because then you’d have three guys tied for the lead yes it’ be fascinating and like I think hadwin has some value morawa would probably be the favorite and look I was really high on morawa and sep straa coming into the week morawa is my oneandone pick so I I would obviously pick him U and I think he’s done the things you have to do really well here um Josh has got the number so without so it’s without Scotty it’s without Rory without Xander this probably was like a pre- tournament now it’s like a live scenario so that’s that’s that’s good so morawa is the favorite plus 180 sep straka plus 320 hadwin 5 to1 ludvig 7 to1 sahith 18 CZ 22 I would take sep straa I think sep straka is the most attractive number I’m curious about ludvig too who’s two back of morawa and straa and and just ludig hasn’t made any birdies like he made two birdies today two birdies yesterday I guess in in uh he made five in round one but to your point he’s 32nd in the field in birdies and he’s fifth on the leaderboard right he’s avoiding mistakes you know what else is fascinating about this Rick how do these guys like is col Mor aawa gonna try to run down Scotty sheffler yeah so that’s that things get dangerous when you do that he should he should try but I feel like sep straka and Adam hadwin shouldn’t try they need to stay in their Lane right they got to play the best round they can T2 would be very good for both of them very lucrative take um a huge jump in the FedEx Cup but moraa is playing for trophies at this point Mora has to try to run and he’s play they’re playing together right they’re playing together correct yeah that they he’s got he’s gotta try so that that’s a little twist in this like ludvig it’s part of the reason why I like him being two back he’s out of it you know at your six shots back are you thinking all right I just gota keep playing I’m gonna make no bogeys today if he does that he could very well come in second place you know four under 68 for him reaching 8 under could very well come in second if you’re Adam hadwin you’re now you are now Adam hadwin and the golf Gods call you tonight and offer you an even par round right now take it or leave it for tomorrow I think you can do better no leave it I think I think he could shoot 70 tomorrow he’s played great he’s played some very good golf I’m not saying he’s gonna win I think he can go shoot 70 yeah maybe H it’s interesting there’s not a lot of pressure if you’re SE straa or Adam hadwin you’re there’s not a lot of pressure you’re not supposed to win you’re not going to win I agree yeah you’re yeah no no one’s like oh I wonder like is Adam had gonna coll no it’s just like dude go go play golf morawa kind of gets like he he’s not gonna bend the knee he’s not gonna bend the need to Scotty sheffler which could be which could be uh it could be there’s more much more opportunity for problems yes like it happened at the Masters it’ll be fascinating did he learn from that is he going to get greedy does he have to get greedy you know um so that’s why this kind of Market is just it’s it’s not the straightup winner because some of these guys may be freewheeling a little bit like the gala may just be freewheeling a little bit three under 18 to one not a bad number so he’s three off of the the without yeah yeah interesting and and there’s only and Xander Schley is not even included in that correct so you got so it’s it’s no Rory no Sheffer no Xander yeah there’s uh five guy he’s got to go and pass Five Guys right it’s fascinating that’s fun okay well we’ll know in 18 holes who the memorial winner is and then of course US Open which we’ll be rocking and rolling on so we’ll do it again tomorrow night uh big thanks to producer Josh doing all the hard work behind the scenes that right there it’s Greg to charm you can find him at the real gfd and you can find me at Rick rung good this has been the first cut we’ll catch you next time [Music]