Scottie Scheffler was down in the training room and on the practice facility when, on Friday afternoon, Rory McIlroy revved into another gear and began to carve up Augusta National.
‘I saw a bit of it,’ the world No 1 said on Saturday. ‘It was pretty special stuff.’
All very polite and perhaps we will never know what really crossed Scheffler’s mind as McIlroy opened up a historic halfway lead and the American’s hopes of a third green jacket faded.
Instead all that did become clear on Saturday? Something got Scheffler’s back up. Because after two tepid days, Scheffler clicked and then he snapped.
He was at level par – 12 shots off the lead – at the dawn of Moving Day. He was struggling to make any dent on the leaderboard. He was sputtering closer to the cut line than to McIlroy.
Well scratch that. On Saturday, something changed. As McIlroy wobbled, Scheffler shot a brilliant, bogey-free 65 that puts him at -7 and right back in the mix. Then he climbed on to a podium near the clubhouse and took a pop at reporters.
Scottie Scheffler put himself into Masters contention with a brilliant, bogey-free 65 at Augusta
The world No 1 had a tepid first couple of days at the Masters before clicking into gear
‘That’s just a terrible question,’ he said to the first inquiry. ‘Next question. Awful.’ Someone had had the temerity to ask if, despite hitting five birdies and an eagle, Scheffler could have gone even lower.
All very harmless, really. And a fair question. Because it probably ought to have been even better – as Scheffler admitted almost immediately.
‘It definitely could have been lower. But I did what I needed to do,’ he said. ‘More of that tomorrow, and I think I’ll be in a good spot.’
That much is clear. Over the first 11 holes on Saturday, he was six-under-par and now, heading into Sunday’s closing round, the world No 1 is within touching distance.
This is a course full of undulations and a tournament used to wild swings of fortune. Snakes and ladders are everywhere at Augusta. But no one lurks in the rearview mirror quite as menacingly as Scheffler.
‘I hit it really nice today,’ he said. ‘I gave myself a lot of opportunities. I took advantage of those on the front nine, and then back nine I did a lot of good things and I was really, really close to seeing a lot go in.’
Scheffler – the champion here in 2022 and 2024 – has not won a tournament since January. He has not had a top-10 finish in a couple of months.
A barren run by his standards and the birth of his second child, Remy – just days before this tournament – hardly made his preparations any simpler.
But Scheffler said on Friday that he felt he was playing better than the leaderboard suggested. And on Saturday, the American put his foot down almost immediately.
At the par-five second, he struck a 265-yard approach to just 6ft before rolling in his eagle putt.
‘More of that tomorrow, and I think I’ll be in a good spot,’ Scheffler said ahead of the final round
Scheffler finished his third round on seven-under-par – within touching distance of the leaders
The world No 1 failed to make further headway until the seventh, when another fine approach set up another birdie. From there, Scheffler began to motor.
A fine pitch helped him improve to four-under at the eighth before another eagle almost followed at nine. From 160 yards, Scheffler’s ball skipped towards the hole, only to catch the lip and stay out.
Another birdie at 11 made it four in five holes. From there, there were few more fireworks – just another birdie at 16 and a terrific par-save at the last to ensure his scorecard stayed blot free.
This time it was McIlroy’s turn to watch his rival find his groove. Maybe Scheffler’s mood will have improved by Sunday night.
