Relentless. It was Rory McIlroy, missing in action this week, who named him that earlier this year when he admitted he was trying to absorb aspects of the Number One to compete against him. Scottie, the relentless. Translated into Spanish: implacable. Today Scheffler has shown himself to be relentless at Quail Hollow. He made an extraordinary impact at the PGA Championship with a round of 65 strokes. He has won half the Wanamaker. He still has the other half to go, and it won’t be a walk in the park, don’t believe it, although with this man it often seems that way.
Scheffler has taken command of operations. He has placed himself at the top with -11 and has a three-stroke lead over Alex Noren (-8), four over Davis Riley (-7) and JT Poston (-7), and five over Jon Rahm (-6), Si Woo Kim (-6), and Jhonattan Vegas (-6). Really, of all the faces appearing in his rearview mirror, only two are circled in red. One is the Basque from Barrika and the other, Bryson DeChambeau (-5). His two great rivals. The pair who, on paper, have the best chance of making a great round this Sunday and giving the Number One a run for his money. Scheffler knows it. He will play the last 18 with Noren, but the ones he will be keeping an eye on are the one in the penultimate group alongside his good friend Si Woo Kim and the one in sixth from last with Tony Finau.
If the PGA Championship was missing spice, this Saturday the whole jar fell on it. It was an extraordinary third day of a Major. There was everything. A moving day in every sense. Conditions were difficult due to the wind, and the ups and downs in the leaderboard were the order of the day. Vegas opened the door early with two bogeys in his first two holes, and from there, madness ensued. Rahm was the leader. DeChambeau was the leader. Si Woo Kim was the leader. Pavon was the leader. Noren was the leader. Fitzpatrick was the leader. And even Davis Riley was the leader. Madness. All until Scheffler arrived and said we would leave the alternation for another day. That for now, tyranny reigns here.
The big hit came in the final stretch of the round. Until the 14th hole, Scheffler looked powerful but with cracks. He missed shots, got into trouble, and made up to three bogeys in 13 holes. From there, it was a symphony. It all started with a magnificent shot from the tee on the 14th. He left it close for an eagle. Next, a sensational approach on the 15th and a two-metre putt. Lastly, after missing a good birdie chance on the 16th, two more successes: on the 17th, he sank a sensational five-metre putt, and on the 18th, he hit another great shot to less than three metres from the hole and made it. Five under in five holes. “What this guy does is not even half normal,” was the comment circulating among the players as they came in and out to sign their cards. It can’t be said that Scheffler has already won the PGA, but he already has one of the trophy’s handles in his grasp.
In all this wonderful madness of the PGA’s third round, Bryson DeChambeau played a crucial role. The double US Open champion faltered when his figure as the great favourite was growing larger. He was the name on everyone’s lips until he stepped onto the Green Mile. He started by missing a one-and-a-half-metre par putt on the 16th, one of those he never misses, and continued with a double bogey on the 17th after sending his tee shot into the water, probably distracted by some malicious action of the wind. He went from being the sole leader to falling to eighth position. That’s how the Majors are.
The legend of the relentless continues to grow. Scheffler aims this Sunday to win his third Major, his second consecutive tournament. Many things can still happen, but the numbers and the feelings are with him. Twice he has gone out as the sole leader on a Sunday in a Major, and both times he has won. He has also bagged the victory the last seven times he has gone out as the leader on the PGA Tour. As said, many things can still happen, but let’s see how…
