Louisville (United States) (AFP) – Xander Schauffele teed off with a one-stroke edge in Saturday’s third round of the PGA Championship while top-ranked Scottie Scheffler challenged for the lead a day after being arrested.
Reigning Olympic champion Schauffele stood on 12-under 130 after 36 holes in quest of his first major title, one stroke ahead of Collin Morikawa, a two-time major winner, and Sahith Theegala in an all-American last group at Valhalla.
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Third-ranked Schauffele, seeking his first major title, has not won since the 2022 Scottish Open, having had 19 top-10 PGA Tour finishes in the nearly two years since.
Scheffler, 27, was handcuffed and arrested Friday morning after jumping a curb to avoid stopped traffic at the course entrance, but was released from jail in time to shoot a five-under par 66 and climb within three of the lead.
Scheffler won his second Masters title last month and hopes to be the first player since 2015 to win the first two majors in a calendar year.
The accident that caused the traffic congestion outside Valhalla, in which a pedestrian was killed, led to the second round finishing on Saturday.
Scheffler was arrested by police on charges of felony assault of a police officer, criminal mischief, reckless driving and disregarding signals from an officer directing traffic.
Known for his ability to remain cool and composed in the wake of adversity on the golf course, Scheffler coped with the traumatic situation to stay in the hunt for a title with resilience.
He has won four of his past five starts but enters this week off a three-week layoff after becoming a new dad, his wife Meredith giving birth to son Bennett last week.
Scheffler faced another break from his beloved routine on Saturday with his regular caddie, Ted Scott, away at his daughter’s high school graduation.
In Scott’s place will be Brad Payne, a pal of Scheffler who is a former college player and chaplain of the PGA Tour.
“I trust him to rake a bunker more than my buddies,” Scheffler said.
When the event began, it was thought that world number two Rory McIlroy would be the player needing to show the most resilience in the wake of his divorce filing Monday from wife Erica after seven years of marriage.
McIlroy struggled to a 71 on Friday and opened Saturday with a bogey to stand eight off the pace.
– Rose heats up early –
Hottest among Saturday’s early starters was England’s 43-year-old Justin Rose, who reeled off four birdies in a row starting at the second hole to move within three of the lead at 9-under.
The first three birdie putts were from about six feet or less with the fourth from 17 feet.
Rose, the 2013 US Open champion, hopes to become the first British player to win the event since England’s Jim Barnes won the first two PGA titles in 1916 and 1919.
Irishman Shane Lowry birdied the same four holes to reach 8-under.
American Bryson DeChambeau, the 2020 US Open champion and top player this week from LIV Golf, sank a 17-foot birdie putt at the opening hole to reach 10-under.
A major-record 78 players made the lowest cut in tournament history to the low-70 and ties on one-under 141 after the morning conclusion of the second round.
The cutline matched the lowest in major golf history at one-under from the 1990 British Open at St.Andrews and the 2006 British Open at Royal Liverpool.
The 78 players making the 36-hole cut broke the old major mark 71 from the 2006 British Open.
Among those who missed the cut were 15-time major winner Tiger Woods, six-time major champion Phil Mickelson, reigning US Open champion Wyndham Clark, sixth-ranked Ludvig Aberg of Sweden and Spain’s Jon Rahm, who had the longest active streak of made major cuts at 18.
Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama now has the longest active major consecutive cut streak at 16.
© 2024 AFP
