At 7:28 a.m. on Friday morning, Scottie Scheffler would have felt like he needed a prayer, sitting in a Louisville jail cell as the minute ticked down to his release time. On Saturday morning, the PGA provided the perfect person to say his prayers, prayers he so desperately needed four holes into his third round.
The world No. 1 found himself without his usual purse handler for the third round of the PGA Championship. While caddying duties for Scheffler’s other major challenge are certainly important, when the family calls, Ted Scott answers.
Scott left his player’s side to fly home to Louisiana for his daughter’s high school graduation on Saturday. It was supposed to be the biggest upset of Scheffler’s big championship. That was until a Friday morning excursion to a Louisville jail, courtesy of a police car, created one of the most surprising moments of the sports year.
Scott’s replacement on Saturday was a man Scheffler, a devout man of faith, would have liked to have had by his side as he watched himself on ESPN through the bars of his cell Friday morning. Brad Payne, who replaced Scott, is a close friend of Scheffler. He is also a PGA chaplain.
Scheffler is the most placid and serene character on the PGA Tour. If the events of Friday morning couldn’t alter his game, then a simple caddy change surely wouldn’t. However, Xander Schauffele and the rest of the field breathed a sigh of relief just four holes into Scheffler’s round.
Scottie Scheffer suffered during his third round of the PGA Championship on Saturday
PGA chaplain Brad Payne caddied for the world No. 1 in the third round.
Scheffler poses for his mugshot after being charged with second-degree assault on Friday
The implosion began with a double-bogey six on the second, followed by a trip to the woods with his tee shot on the third. Scheffler had to jump a fence to retrieve his ball and take a penalty, resulting in a bogey, and any hope of an immediate rebound was dashed with another in the fourth.
The Texan was living on a prayer for the rest of his round, as five birdies and three more bogeys limited the damage, leaving him two up for the day and seven under par for the tournament, eight behind the leaders.
While his fellow pros know to never let their guard down against Scheffler, Schauffele faced a different challenger on Saturday.
Schauffele is all too familiar with victory being snatched from his grasp and with Collin Morikawa breathing down his neck, flashbacks of last week’s Wells Fargo Championship collapse shook him into 15th place.
Morikawa, who started one shot back, jumped to the top of the leaderboard when his birdie putt ran all the way around the rim before falling, while Schauffele’s short game deficiencies cost him a double bogey.
Scheffler had to jump a fence to recover his ball and was awarded a penalty in the third minute.
Overnight leader Xander Schauffele shot a three-under 68 in this third round.
The American was joined at the top of the rankings by his playing partner Collin Morikawa (right)
Morikawa had stopped his compatriot’s blows blow by blow to stay within one of Schauffele throughout the round and took the opportunity to snatch the new one-stroke lead from him.
It didn’t last long, as Schauffele, desperate not to let another big shot get away from him, fought his way back as the pair traded birdies on the final two holes to end up sharing the 15-under lead, one stroke ahead of Sahith Theegala. .
But there was a new threat at the top of the rankings: Shane Lowry. The Irishman equaled Schauffele’s historic 62 in the first round to catapult himself into contention, joining Viktor Hovland and Bryson DeChambeau in a tie for fourth place at 13 under par.
DeChambeau led the rest of the American charge, holing out from the 18th green for an eagle finish. Meanwhile, hometown hero Justin Thomas gave Louisville something to shout about with a four-under 67 that saw him sneak into the top 10.