The best golfer in the world went the first 13 holes of the third round of the Memorial Tournament without making a birdie.
Scottie Scheffler wasn’t concerned. Muirfield Village Golf Club was playing particularly difficult, at least until the wind subsided late in the round.
“I thought I was doing pretty good,” Scheffler said. “Around this golf course, even-par would have been a pretty solid score.”
Solid might be good enough for most golfers. Scheffler is beyond solid. It felt like a matter of time before the world’s top-ranked player got on a roll, and Scheffler did just that.
He birdied four of the last five holes. He capped the charge by reading the sharp break on a 13-foot putt on the 18th hole.
When second-round leader Ben Griffin bogeyed the final hole minutes later, Scheffler became the third-round leader. It was the first time in 19 rounds at the Memorial that Scheffler didn’t have a bogey.
Before Scheffler’s charge, Griffin had one that threatened to leave the field in the dust. He birdied three straight holes on the front nine to take a five-shot lead on the field and six over Scheffler.
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“I did see that Ben got to 10 under, but it’s not going to change my play in the middle of a Saturday,” Scheffler said. “This golf course is really challenging, and no lead is safe around this place. I knew if I kept going and played a decent round, I would be in somewhat of a position to chase him down tomorrow.
“If he’s sitting there at 10 under and he gets to 12 or 13, there’s not much I can do about that, so it’s not really going to change my mindset trying to get to 12 under when I’m sitting at 4.”
Scheffler started his birdie binge at No. 14 with a 10-footer. He narrowly missed getting an eagle on the par-5 15th hole. Scheffler missed making a birdie on No. 16 by 9 inches before making an 8-footer on No. 17.
“I just hit a lot of really good shots down the stretch, from 13 on and gave myself a lot of good looks and was able to hole some,” he said.
He did so despite challenging pin placements.
“Where the pins were today,” Scheffler said, “there was so much break around the cup, and I felt like when I was putting from 20 feet along the front nine, I’m playing 3 feet of break sometimes.”
A week ago, Griffin won the Charles Schwab Challenge after fending off a charge by Scheffler. The two were born two months apart in 1996 and played junior events together.
“I’ve known him a long time,” Scheffler said. “He always had a lot of talent.”
But Scheffler’s talent is at a different level. Jordan Spieth said Scheffler’s club-face control might be the best the tour has ever seen.
“Obviously, Scottie Scheffler’s the best player in the world, but No. 1 can be beat,” Griffin said.
If Scheffler does prevail, he’ll join Tiger Woods as the only back-to-back Memorial champions.
“It would be nice, but last year’s tournament is last year’s tournament,” Scheffler said. “It doesn’t matter going into this year. I’ve got an opportunity to have a good round and hopefully win the tournament. I’ll be focused on the first tee and trying to get that ball in play and going from there.”
