SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. -- World No. 1 golfer Scottie Scheffler knows what’s at stake in Sunday’s final round of the 126th U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club.
If Scheffler can make something special happen -- or if leader Wyndham Clark can somehow come back to the field -- he will have a chance to become only the seventh golfer to complete the career Grand Slam.
Scheffler would accomplish the feat on his 30th birthday and Father’s Day.
He trails Clark by six shots heading into the final round. They will play together in the last group.
“We want to be in these positions,” said Scheffler, who was tied for second at 1 under. “This is why we practice and play, to have the opportunity to win golf tournaments, and that’s what tomorrow is. I have an opportunity to go out there and have a great round and give myself a chance to win the tournament.”
After three straight birdies on the back nine put Scheffler back into contention Saturday, he had a chance to get even closer on the final two holes. He narrowly missed a 7-foot putt that would have saved par on the 17th.
On the par-4 18th, Scheffler hit his approach to about 4 feet but missed a tricky downhill putt for birdie.
“Late in the day, the greens, there’s a lot of activity, and with so much pitch and wind, there’s a bit of mystery as to how the ball is going to break,” Scheffler said. “We had a kind of inside left read, hit a solid putt, and [the ball] just kind of kept breaking.”
It didn’t seem like Scheffler would be in contention at all after his opening two holes. On the first, he pulled his drive into the rough on the left. Scheffler said he had “the worst lie I’ve seen from anybody all week” and could advance his ball only 48 yards. He walked away with a bogey.
On the par-3 second, his tee shot bounced into a left greenside bunker. He couldn’t get up and down and made another bogey.
After carding seven straight pars, Scheffler started turning things around on the 10th with a 7½-foot birdie putt. He had a nice par save with a 6-footer on the 12th.
On the par-4 14th, Scheffler blasted a 351-yard drive down the right side of the fairway. His ball stopped below the green, about 65 feet from the hole. He chipped in for another birdie to get back to even par.
“At that point, I’m still over par for the tournament, staring at a pretty tough up-and-down,” Scheffler said. “So to steal a shot there at least is a pretty good feeling. We’ve been battling for three days now, and at that point over par for the tournament, you can feel like it’s kind of slipping away. To steal one there was really nice.”
Scheffler wasn’t done. He made a 12-foot birdie putt on the 13th to move to 1 under. On the par-5 16th, he reached the green with a fairway wood from 274 yards. He narrowly missed a 13-foot eagle putt and settled for another birdie to get to 2 under.
It was the first time in Scheffler’s career that he made three straight birdies in a U.S. Open round.
“You can hit a lot of good shots and end up in some spots where you’re going to be frustrated with the result, but I think that’s part of the U.S. Open test,” Scheffler said. “We did a good job of staying patient and stealing some shots where we could. The back nine, [I] definitely stole a couple shots.”
Still, the odds are stacked against Scheffler and the rest of the field.
Twenty-one golfers had a lead of six shots or more entering the final round of a major, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. All but one went on to win; Greg Norman carded a 6-over 78 in the final round of the 1996 Masters and lost to Nick Faldo by five strokes.
“We’ve been battling hard for a few days, and I did a good job of keeping myself in the tournament,” Scheffler said. “I’ll need a really nice round tomorrow if I’m going to try and catch Wyndham.”
