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Scottie Scheffler’s golf ball started down the middle of the 18th fairway at the Stadium Course at PGA West and started to move left, too far left, headed for a large lake.
But the ball never found the lake. It hit the rocks on the edge of the lake, bounced high into the air and back onto the fairway grass.
Those are the kind of breaks that can determine a golf tournament, and it certainly determined that Scheffler would be tied for the lead after the third round of the American Express golf tournament on Saturday.
“I was just trying to hit a little draw 3-wood, and I drew it a lot,” Scheffler laughed. “I’m not sure if it would have crossed up there, so it was a great break bouncing off the rocks like that. I guess you take them where you can get them.”
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The big bounce allowed Scheffler to make a par on the closing par-4 and complete a 6-under 66 under warm and calm conditions in La Quinta. That puts Scheffler, a two-time winner on the Korn Ferry Tour last year, at 21 under for the tournament, tied with Andrew Landry.
Landry, who lost the desert title in a four-hole playoff with Jon Rahm in 2018, managed a 65 on the Nicklaus Tournament Course at PGA West to reach 21 under. That gives Landry and Scheffler a four-shot lead over second-round co-leader Rickie Fowler. Fowler was just 2 over through eight holes Saturday on the Stadium Course, but rallied with four birdies the rest of the round for a 70 and a 17-under total.
Rough start for Rickie
“Typically, you’re going to have nine holes throughout 72 that may not go exactly how you want to, and a couple mental errors cost me, and just really struggled to get things going early,” Fowler said. “So I was actually surprised by the green speed early on.”
As Scheffler and Landry made birdies and marched away from the field, other golfers worked to stay within reach of the leaders. Ryan Moore and Chase Seiffert are tied for fourth at 16 under, with Moore shooting 67 on the Stadium Course and Seiffert shooting 67 on the Nicklaus Tournament Course.
For Scheffler, just 23 and a rookie on the PGA Tour, Saturday’s round was his first encounter with Pete Dye’s Stadium Course, the toughest of the three courses in the American Express rotation. He walked away with the 66 but with respect for a course he’ll play again Sunday in the final pairing with Landry and Fowler.
“It’s a tough course. It’s a good track,” Scheffler said. “If you’re not on your game, you can really struggle. There’s a lot of trouble out there, so you’ve got to hit a lot of quality shots to keep the ball in play, so it’s a good track. Good test.”
Scheffler birdied three of his first five holes to grab the lead. He added three more birdies on the back nine for a bogey-free 66, but he actually trailed Landry late in the round.
Landry’s round started on the back nine of the Nicklaus Tournament Course and featured a 6-under 30 on that nine, including four consecutive birdies to close. Landry added birdies on the fourth and fifth holes to take the lead at 22 under, but a bogey on the par-3 eighth knocked him back down into the tie with Scheffler.
It wasn’t a round Landry thought featured great ball-striking but he was pleased with his solid play around the greens.
Grinding at the American Express
“There were a couple holes out there where I missed the green and left myself in some good spots, left myself in some bad spots, made some really clutch par putts and that was kind of the deal that kept my momentum going throughout the day,” Landry said. “So started off hitting the ball really well and just kept on grinding it out.
“It’s been a heck of a week so far with my ball striking and just kind of, one day’s ball striking, the next day’s putting and putting’s just been here all week,” he said. “So we’ll just keep riding it out and see what happens (Sunday).”
While Scheffler’s name isn’t that familiar to casual golf fans, he had a big year in 2019 on the Korn Ferry Tour. And he’s hoping he can keep his winning ways going with the same game and same attitude that he used last year. He’ll take that skill and attitude against Fowler, a five-time winner on the tour, and Landry, who has one tour victory in 2018.
“Winning is pretty similar at all levels of the game, and I feel like I’ve gone a good job of closing tournaments out, especially this year on the Korn Ferry Tour,” Scheffler said. “So looking back on that experience should definitely help, and it should be a fun day.”
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