OAKMONT, Pa. — Though he was seven shots off the lead exiting the 18th putting green at the U.S. Open Saturday afternoon, world No. 1 golfer Scottie Scheffler couldn’t help but feel some relief sitting at 4-over for the tournament.
That’s because he’s had issues with his swing in each of his three days at Oakmont Country Club.
“Usually over the course of 72 holes, you have a couple days, swing feels pretty good, a couple days where maybe it’s off,” Scheffler said after shooting even on Saturday. “Weeks where you win, maybe you have three or four days of good ball striking. … This week I’ve had three days where I haven’t really had my swing, and I’ve been battling out there, still have a chance — albeit in an outside chance.”
Scheffler was noticeably more relaxed after coming off the course Saturday as he held his 13-month-old son at the practice range. Later, Scheffler laughed as he handed his son a club as he crawled nearby. It was a far cry from a day earlier, when the normally mild-mannered Scheffler was visibly frustrated as he gestured at swing coach Randy Smith during his post-round range session.
“To be honest with you, yesterday we left the range, I felt like I didn’t figure anything out,” he said Saturday. “Just one of those days where just the swing wasn’t there. Randy had some thoughts for me that definitely helped today, but I’m going to go hit a few more balls and see if we can figure something out. … Yesterday for me to shoot 1-over was, I mean, pretty amazing.”
Through three rounds, Scheffler set a new PGA Tour career high with 15 bogeys or worse, according to Elias Sports Bureau. Though Saturday had a rocky start with three bogeys on the front nine, Scheffler bounced back to record just one on the back nine. He pulled even for the round with a birdie on 17 and was greeted by the roar of the grandstands surrounding the soggy putting green.
Though it was still an abnormal performance by his standards, Scheffler’s third round was his best of the tournament after shooting a 73 and 71 in the first two rounds, respectively. He recorded six bogeys on Thursday and five on Friday.
“I felt like I had a hard time getting momentum,” Scheffler said of his third round. “I made a few silly mistakes out there, a couple three-putts, which is just a killer.
“I’m not sure what place I’m in now, but I think the leaders are at 3-under and I’m at 4-over. So am I in the position I had hoped to be after three days? Obviously not. But for the way I’ve swung it and played the last few days, I feel like I could be a lot worse.”
Though Scheffler admitted he’d need some help to threaten the lead on Sunday, he stopped short of openly rooting for other golfers to fall victim to Oakmont’s treacherous course.
“I’m not necessarily going to be rooting against anybody, but do I hope they go out and shoot 5-under on the back nine? I wouldn’t mind even, you know,” he said with a laugh. “It’s just one of those deals where I put myself in this position. It’s not the position I want to be in, but I’ve done a good job of hanging in there and staying in the tournament.”
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