Scottie Scheffler is almost back to normal hands, feet, and mouthand shows
Scheffler, after his illness last week in St. Louis, is now in a great position to make a run at the FedExCup and the $10 million prize that comes with it. He fired a world-high 3-under 67 on Friday at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, which has him at eight-under eight.
Advertisement
That, however, was not enough to push him into the lead in the middle of last season’s events. Instead, it was Ryan Gerard who had a near perfect day and shot a double lead when he played the club with a late birdie on the 18th. Gerard, who won his only PGA Tour title, shot a second straight 65 to reach 10 under, sinking a one-footer of 78 feet. Viktor Hovland joined in saving a birdie on the 18th.
Scheffler, who won the FedEx St. Jude Championship by an incredible eight strokes to kick off the FedExCup Playoffs, posted a bogey-free 65 on Thursday to open the week. And as he struggled through the second leg of the Games – admitting on Sunday that he had retired from the BMW Championship as a sleeker version of himself – Scheffler felt much better.
“The hands are all good, completely back to normal,” Scheffler said Thursday. “I still have some sores in my throat, but I feel better than last week. I’m talking and eating and drinking normally.”
Scheffler entered the second round four shots a Min Woo Lee, who made two shots on the field on Thursday night.
Advertisement
Scheffler didn’t start on Good Friday, but it quickly made up for him. After back-to-back bogeys on holes 3 and 4, Scheffler birdied the back nine while making five birdies on the right-hand seventh hole.
And if he hadn’t missed the green at 17, where he settled for a bogey on the back nine, Scheffler would have hit the club with a side of the lead. Eagles had 50 on the last foot, but ended up leaving it about 3 feet for an easy birdie.
“I had a clean sheet yesterday. Today I made a few bogeys,” Scheffler said plainly. “That’s pretty much the difference in the name. Yeah, not really too much different than that.”
Hovland posted a 66 on Friday to join Gerard at 10-under. Collin Morikawa and Chris Gotterup each reached 9-under to share the third round, which dropped Scheffler into a tie for fifth with Young.
Advertisement
The youngster jumped into the lead on Friday after opening the week with an even par 70. He made seven birdies and an eagle to finish with his 18-under 62 in the second round, which put him back in the mix. 18 The eagle flew through the circle alone as the first to escape.
“You don’t do things at your own pace,” he said. “You never wait. You never rush. That’s pretty nice.”
Rory McIlroy, meanwhile, just about played himself out of it. Most of Friday was spent trying to recover from a double bogey-bogey combo on the first, which started after he made a mistake around the third green that is perhaps the most concerning.
Not great.
There is still a long way to go before the FedExCup is delivered. And Scheffler is still not in the lead. But with the road games coming up in the next few weeks, and with his health essentially behind him, it’s going to be a lot for the rest of the field to successfully keep him at bay for another couple of days.
Advertisement
That is now Gerard’s work over then 36 scrubs.
“Absolutely, love playing with a lead,” he said. “A better way than playing in the last.”