Scottie Scheffler is used to relaxing on the weekends. He usually doesn’t arrive for his Saturday shift until early afternoon.
But these last few days have been a wild example of Pinehurst not caring about reputation or ranking. Or shape. Scheffler was expected to walk at this US Open. Instead, he was forced to set an early alarm for once.
The world number one got out of bed to start moving more than five hours before the leading pack. He was five over par, 10 shots off the pace.
When Rory McIlroy arrived at Pinehurst, wearing a backwards cap, Scheffler was on his back and burning in this North Carolina furnace.
Your scorecard shows that you regressed on moving day. But he was not alone. In fact, among the early starters, his 1-over-par 71 was one of the least painful rounds. It’s not the first time this week that Scheffler simply couldn’t make a putt. Frustration bubbled throughout the day.
World number one Scottie Scheffler shot a third-round 71 during a brutal third round at the US Open.
Scheffler entered Saturday’s third round 10 shots off the lead after a miserable tournament
But there were some players who really got fired up Saturday morning. None more impressive than Matt Fitzpatrick. The only drawback? The 2022 champion from Sheffield put the gear lever in reverse.
Through five holes, his scorecard read: bogey, bogey, par, double bogey, double bogey. He dropped more shots on eight and then on 13 and then on 15. He didn’t make a single birdie.
It was a massacre. It was grim proof of how this course had become even more difficult as temperatures rose and these greens became even trickier.
When Fitzpatrick signed for a 79 in the third round, he was last among the 74 players who made the cut. At that time, only three players were under par for the day.
Scheffler was not among them. Instead, moments later, he was grumbling to himself again after falling to six over par.
By then, the world number one had set another unwanted record. On Friday, for the first time as a professional, he failed to make a birdie in 18 holes in a major.
That barren streak continued until the eighth hole on Saturday. In total, Scheffler went 26 consecutive holes without taking a shot, the longest streak of his career.
He’s had a turbulent few weeks off the course, welcoming his first child into the world and then finding himself in an orange jumpsuit during the PGA Championship.
The world No. 1’s emotions boiled over as he battled on the greens around Pinehurst’s No. 2.
But that trip to a Louisville jail proved only a brief detour during a season of dominance in which Scheffler won five times, earned $24 million and established himself as the best golfer in the world. Not even a neck injury, which left him struggling to swing the club, could derail his path to victory at the Players Championship.
Make no mistake, this represents the biggest on-field conflict Scheffler has faced all year. He didn’t even expect to be here this long. Not after his troubles on Friday, when his putter betrayed him and his emotions got the better of him, too.
The 27-year-old flirted near the cutline throughout his round. It wasn’t until hours after he had signed for 74 (and after Pinehurst had humiliated several other players) that his plans for the weekend were confirmed.
Fitzpatrick also sneaked in through the back door. Not that he was around much longer than five years old on Saturday. Scheffler also stepped back before taking a step forward. The world number one made bogey in the fourth. Then, after securing birdie on eight, he gave the shot away straight on the par-three ninth.
Scheffler was back up five at 11 and gave himself several opportunities to be in the red for the day. He missed them all and then bogeyed the 15th. By then, these greens were playing like ice rinks and Scheffler’s emotions had run high.