Scottie Scheffler outs secret to creeping up The Open leaderboard from a five-shot deficit
Scottie Scheffler had a slow start to The Open Championship 2024. However, the World No. 1 crept up the leaderboard slowly and entered the top 10 by the third round. The ace golfer sat just two shots back of the leader Billy Horschel at the end of Saturday.
Scheffler carded a level-par round of 71 in brutal conditions on Day 3. The Masters champion, chasing his maiden Open Championship title, had a five-shot deficit on Saturday. Interestingly, the golfer revealed that he was able to play with a bit of freedom as he was far behind.
The 28-year-old later reiterated the same and claimed that he tries to “play free every round” which lets him improve his game by the round. He claimed that maintaining a “committed” attitude has always been one of his goals. He credited ‘good mental head space’ for helping him climb up the leaderboard this weekend.
Speaking to reporters about the secret of building from a five-shot deficit at The Open Championship 2024, Scottie Scheffler said at Royal Troon (at 1:11):
“I'll try to play free every round. That's always one of my goals is attitude and being committed to what I'm doing. And definitely today was another one of those days where I stayed in good mental head space and did my best out there. And I was just proud of how I played today.”
It is pertinent to note that Scottie Scheffler went under the radar most of Saturday. The ace golfer went about his business quietly as he completed a level-par round. Notably, the two-time Major champion, who has already registered six PGA Tour wins this season, made big moves on the leaderboard amid tough conditions.
Scottie Scheffler calls The Open’s Round 3 back nine the ‘hardest nine holes’
Scheffler dubbed the back nine at Royal Troon “the hardest nine holes" he'll ever play, it was a brilliant effort. The World No. 1 played the final nine holes in just one-over-par. He dropped shots at the 13th and the 15th before making a sensational three-wood off the tee at the par-three 17th. He finished with a birdie.
Describing the wet conditions following the round, Scottie Scheffler said:
“I probably don’t hit a 3-wood on a par-3 very often. I probably don’t hit driver and a 3-wood really solid on a par-4 and don’t get there in two, either, which is what happened at 15… I mean, at 18 I hit a good driver and a really hard 3-iron. And I’m hitting that 3-iron super low and as hard as I can.
"Yesterday, Jordan (Spieth) hit a driver there and had 30, 40 yards to the front edge. It was 160-, 170-yard difference in length off the tee there, from his drive yesterday to my drive today. Yeah, it was pretty wild out there, but I did a good job of grinding it out.”
It is pertinent to note that Scottie Scheffler came into The Open Championship as a favorite. However, a slow start saw the golfer’s odds of winning his second Major of the year diminish. The Masters champion is once again in the mix and is a top pick to kiss the Claret Jug on Sunday.