18th June, 2023
World number one, Scottie Scheffler, lights up U.S Open in the third round on Saturday, holed out for a late eagle that helped propel him into contention.
Scheffler eagled the penultimate hole at Los Angeles Country Club and then needed just one stroke with the short stick at the 18th to make birdie for a two-under-par 68 and a nine-under total for the week.
Speaking after the game, he said “I was fighting all day today, trying to just get myself back in position, starting the day six or seven shots back or whatever it was. Just trying to make some birdies and avoid the bogeys.
“I didn’t do a great job of that for most of the day but I grinded it out pretty hard. … And yeah, just fortunate to see that shot go in on 17 and then a nice birdie on 18 to kind of get myself back into it.”
Scheffler is alone in fourth place, three shots behind co-leaders Rickie Fowler and Wyndham Clark, and will play the final round with world number three Rory McIlroy in a star-studded second-to-last pairing.
According to Elias Sports Bureau, this will be only the third US Open in the last 20 years in which two of the top three ranked players in the world will be among the top four entering the final round.
Scheffler started the day five shots behind halfway leader Fowler and dropped out after a one-over-par first 16 holes.
But Scheffler saved his best for last, holed out for eagle from 196 yards out on the par-four 17th, which is playing as the most difficult hole on the golf course this week, before finishing with a 22-foot birdie putt.
“Could not see the ball go in, but there was a nice crowd there on the grandstand behind the green,” Scheffler said about his second shot at the 17th hole.
“I saw where it landed and I thought it would funnel out on to the green and I’d have a look for birdie and then you could see everybody as the noise started to kind of rise, got excited, and then they erupted, which is always nice when you’re standing back there in the fairway.”
Scheffler, who won his lone major title at the 2022 Masters after taking a three-shot lead into the final round, said it made no difference whether he was the hunter or the hunted on a major Sunday.
“You’re nervous whether or not you’re leading or chasing. I want to win the golf tournament. It doesn’t matter what tournament it is. I’m showing up and I want to play good and I want to win,” said Scheffler.
“Going into tomorrow I’m going to be chasing, but it’s not going feel any different. … Got to go out there and execute and do the best I can.”