AUGUSTA, Ga. — He’s there again.
Scottie Scheffler in the lead.
At a major championship.
At the Masters.
Scheffler, the No. 1 ranked player in the world and the 2022 Masters champion, will take a one-shot lead into the final round in his quest to win a second green jacket in three years Sunday at Augusta National.
Scheffler, who shot a 1-under-par 71 on Saturday, is 7-under par.
Collin Moriwaka, a two-time major champion winner, is one shot off the lead at 6-under par after shooting 69 on Saturday, one of only two rounds in the 60s in the entire third round.
The past 27 Masters champions have been within four shots entering the final round.
Max Homa is two shots back at 5-under par in his pursuit of a first career major championship.
Swedish youngster Ludvig Aberg, playing in his first-ever major championship, is 4-under par, three shots back.
And then there’s the polarizing can’t-take-your-eyes-off-of-him Bryson DeChambeau, who entered the day with a share of the lead at 6-under par, at 3-under par, four shots back after a wild day that saw him seemingly play his way out of the tournament with a rugged back nine.
Until he holed out from 80 yards out on his third shot on the 18th hole for birdie.
DeChambeau, who’s pushed his tee shot into the right trees and had to punch out, looked distraught at throwing his chances away before he hit his third shot.
Then he jarred it and sent a surge of electricity around the 18th green.
Suddenly, he still has a chance
On a day when there were rampant rumors that Taylor Swift was going to be on the grounds (she was never sighted), Tiger Woods shot an 82, the highest score in his 99 career rounds at the Masters.
And there is a serious final round of drama ahead on Sunday littered with compelling storylines.
If Scheffler wins, it cements him into a level of dominance in the game no one has displayed since Woods was in his prime.
If Morikawa wins, he suddenly catapults himself into a position where he’ll go to Pinehurst for the U.S. Open in June with a chance to become the sixth player in history to complete a career Grand Slam, with all four major championships on his resume.
If Homa wins, it becomes one of the most popular wins by one of the most popular players in the sport
If DeChambeau wins, it’s a massive victory for not only DeChambeau, the 2020 U.S. Open winner, but for LIV Golf.
Greg Norman, the polarizing LIV Golf CEO, has been on the grounds all week, having purchased his own after-market badge to get onto the grounds.
Can you imagine the scene if DeChambeau wins and his first hug on the 18th green is the Shark?
Xander Schauffele, one of the best players yet to win a major, is not out of this at 2-under par.
Since 2014, every Masters winner except one has emerged from the final pairing on Sunday.
The only exception was Danny Willett in 2016, when Jordan Spieth imploded on the back nine of his final round to lose a large lead.
That stat fact would suggest that either Scheffler or Moriwaka will win Sunday.
Asked what his win in 2022 might do to help him win a second green jacket, Scheffler said, “I think I’ll have a better understanding of what the morning is like tomorrow. But, yeah, proud of how I played today. It was a good fight out there.
“The golf course was extremely challenging. The greens were very firm, very fast, and it was extremely difficult again today. So probably looking for more of the same tomorrow.’’
Scheffler, who rarely displays a lot of outward emotion, had two moments on Saturday where you could feel what is meant to him.
He’d double-bogeyed the 10th hole to fall from 7-under to 5-under and then bogeyed No. 11 to drop to 4-under, two shots out of the lead.
When he eagled the par-5 13th, though, Scheffler unleashed a couple of fist pumps.
Later, when he birdied the 18th hole after stuffing his majestic approach shot close, he let out another fist pump, knowing thay would secure him in the Sunday final group.
Where everyone wants to be.
The only thing right now that seems like it could derail Scheffler from winning again is his wife, Meredith, who’s back home in Dallas expecting the couple’s first child.
Scheffler said he’s prepared to leave the tournament at any moment if she calls and says she’s in labor.
“I definitely have a way to get home pretty quickly,’’ he said. “We have somebody here that has access to their cell phone. I’ll be available to go home then whenever I need to.’’
Asked if he thinks she’ll call, knowing he’s about to win another Masters, Scheffler said, “She better call.’’
