Scottie Scheffler takes two strokes lead at The Players Championship
Scottie Scheffler was back in the game after registering a two-shot lead at The Players Championship at the end of the third round.
The tournament was heavily affected by the bad weather and was delayed on Friday. The second and third rounds finally wrapped on Saturday with the 2022 Masters winner leading the tally with a score deficit of 14.
Scheffler's eagle on the second hole on Saturday helped him take the lead in the tournament. He started the third round with a birdie followed by an eagle. He then made a birdie on the fifth hole and then on the 8th and 9th.
With six birdies, an eagle, and a bogey, Scottie Scheffler finished the round under 7 making it a total deficit of 14.
The American golfer is heading towards winning a cheque of $4.5 million from the total purse of $25 million. Min Woo Lee is just two shots behind Scheffler to take the top position. He finished with a scoring deficit of 12 to take a solo second-position lead.
Speaking about his performance, Lee said:
"Tomorrow could be the biggest day of my life, but I'm going to go out there and have fun again. It's been the motto for the last three months. ... I'm just out here enjoying my time, and like I said, I just crept into this tournament and making the most of it and soaking it all in."
"I would much rather win the tournament" - Scottie Scheffler after taking lead at the Players Championship
If Scottie Scheffler wins The Players Championship, he will probably dethrone Jon Rahm from the top position in the world rankings.
A win at the tournament could help him regain his number one title. However, winning the tournament is more important for Scheffler than getting back to the top spot.
Speaking about the final round, Scottie Scheffler said:
"I would much rather win the tournament than get back to No. 1 in the world. So that will be my focus going into tomorrow, just going out and having a solid round of golf."
Jon Rahm had withdrawn from the tournament ahead of the second round due to illness, while Rory McIlroy missed the cut, giving Scottie the perfect opportunity to clinch back the number one position.
Interestingly, the Players Championship leaderboard is donated by low-ranked golfers. Cam Davis secured third position after the third round while Chad Ramey slipped down to fourth position, sitting alongside Christiaan Benzuidenhout, Aaron Rai, and Tommy Fleetwood.
Tom Hoge made an impressive jump after the third round and settled into the T8 position with a score of under 8. He opened up about his performance in an interview and said:
"I finished yesterday afternoon actually and woke up this morning to watch the scores for a few hours there, and that was all over the place. So I just felt fortunate to have tee time this morning. Just tried to go out and make as many birdies as I could."