Charlotte (AFP) – World number one Scottie Scheffler teed off with a three-stroke lead in Sunday’s final round of the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow, chasing his third career major crown. The 28-year-old American made an eagle and three birdies in the last five holes of Saturday’s third round to stand on 11-under par 202, his six-under 65 marking the first time he fired a day’s outright low round at a major.
Sweden’s Alex Noren, seeking his first major title at age 42, birdied four of the last five holes Saturday to grab second on eight-under and a spot alongside Scheffler in the final pairing. Scheffler, the 2022 and 2024 Masters champion, put himself in position to capture his first major outside Augusta National and become the 10th consecutive American to win the PGA Championship. “He’s in a spot where it would be shocking if he didn’t win today,” defending champion Xander Schauffele said of Scheffler.
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After suffering a right hand injury last December, Scheffler only won his first title of the year two weeks ago at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson, matching the PGA Tour’s 72-hole low scoring record in the process. Scheffler, whose nine titles in 2024 included Paris Olympic gold, has converted his past seven 54-hole leads into triumphs and took both major titles that way, but he isn’t making room in the trophy case just yet. “There’s a lot of great players chasing me on the leaderboard and someone is going to put up a great round,” Scheffler said. “It’s up to me to go out there and have another really good round and finish off the tournament.”
The PGA Championship winner will take home $3.42 million, beating last year’s $3.3 million, from a record purse of $19 million with $2.052 million going to the runner-up. A victory for Scheffler would be his 15th career PGA Tour triumph over a span of three years and 94 days, with Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods the only players to hit the mark faster. Americans Davis Riley and J.T. Poston shared third on seven-under. The closest major winner to Scheffler was 2021 US Open and 2023 Masters champion Jon Rahm of Spain on six-under, five behind Scheffler.
Other major winners in the hunt were reigning US Open champion Bryson DeChambeau, England’s Matt Fitzpatrick and Australian Adam Scott, all six adrift. “Wind is up, hopefully I can make a few shots and provide a challenge,” DeChambeau said Sunday. There were good scores on offer as American Ben Griffin birdied four of the first seven holes to reach six-under and compatriot Harris English reeled off four birdies in five holes starting at 11 to reach five-under. South Korean Kim Si-woo and Venezuelan Jhonattan Vegas each opened with bogeys to stand on five-under.
American Sam Burns fired a 67 to finish on 282. Burns opened with back-to-back birdies, eagled the par-five seventh, and birdied the eighth. “You’re going to see some guys make some birdies and you’re going to see some guys struggle,” Burns said. “If you can get off to a good start, it helps.” Third-ranked Schauffele closed with a 22-foot birdie putt to shoot 68 and finish on 283. “Just didn’t have enough to score well,” said Schauffele. “Just got to hang tough.”
Five-time major winner Rory McIlroy, who completed a career Grand Slam by winning last month’s Masters, fired a closing 72 to finish on 287 at a course where the world number two has won four times and holds the course record of 61.
© 2024 AFP
