Air of inevitability blows in as Scottie Scheffler seizes control of the Open

The Guardian

3 days ago

Scottie Scheffler still had 20 holes of this Open Championship to play. History tells us leads can evaporate in just one. Dense rough, links bunkers, the scale of pressure attached to the oldest major. Open calamity is written in folklore. The ghost of Jean van de Velde still lingers. And yet, the bookmakers had Scheffler at only 1-8 to lift the Claret Jug. The fat lady had cleared her throat. Twenty holes. What sporting planet is this?
It is possible to run out of adjectives for Scheffler. Unflappable, remarkable, relentless. Nobody will ever match the impact of Tiger Woods on golf but it really is no exaggeration to suggest Scheffler can be similarly dominant. Come Sunday evening on the Causeway Coast, Scheffler will surely be a four-time major winner and three-quarters of the way towards a career grand slam. This is only his 24th major start as a professional. In one of them, his pursuit of glory was undermined by being thrown into a police cell.
Immediately before the pandemic, nobody beyond golf geeks knew who Scottie Scheffler was. Confidence – or certainty – attached to what happens next is backed up by Scheffler winning on the last nine previous occasions when he has held a 54-hole lead. He is in pursuit of a 12th victory since spring of 2024.
This advantage is to the tune of four shots. Li Haotong's 69 means he is the closest to Scheffler's 14 under par. Li will play in the final group of a major for the first time in an up-and-down career. Scheffler; 68, 64, 67. He has barely broken sweat.
Saturday's hope of a tussle was a brief one, as Matt Fitzpatrick chipped in for an eagle at the 3rd to tie the lead. Scheffler jabbed back by collecting two shots of his own at the 7th but Fitzpatrick's birdie at the same hole kept matters interesting. Scheffler reached 13 under par by picking up a shot at the 8th.
On the back nine there were two ridiculous par saves from Scheffler, at the 11th and 14th after finding deep foliage. The 16th is called Calamity for a reason; Scheffler made a mockery of its reputation courtesy of a birdie two. Fitzpatrick had erred at the short 13th, with his birdie two holes later offset by another mistake on the penultimate hole. The Yorkshireman closed on nine under after his level-par 71.
Scheffler has promised not to overthink his position. This seems his finest attribute, a mindset that does not move dependent on leaderboards. 'I like being out here competing,' Scheffler said. 'This is why we work so hard, to have opportunities like this and I'm excited for the challenge of tomorrow. Winning major championships is not an easy task and I've put myself in a good position.
'Going into tomorrow I'm going to step up there on the 1st tee and I'm going to be trying to get the ball in the fairway. When I get to the second shot I'm going to be trying to get that ball on the green. There's not really too much else going on.' Simple, so blissfully simple. Try telling that to poor Matti Schmid, who shot 79.
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Fitzpatrick bemoaned problems on the greens. What was the issue with putts, Matt? 'They just wouldn't go in,' he replied with admirable candour. Fitzpatrick added: 'Let's be realistic, he's five ahead. It's not easy. But if you get off to a good start, then obviously put a bit of pressure on early doors and hope for the best ... You get three under through six, like some of the guys today, the 7th the par five and all of a sudden you're kind of right back in it, you would hope. It's clear what I have to do tomorrow.'
The tournament minus Scheffler is a decent one. Rory McIlroy reached eight under par with a dramatic 66, his lowest score of the week, before wonderful crowds. McIlroy's homecoming has been already been everything he could have imagined. The Belfast boy has Chris Gotterup, Harris English and Tyrrell Hatton for scoring company.
On a day when chances were aplenty, the defending champion, Xander Schauffele, posted five under par to move to minus seven. Lee Westwood is out of winning contention at minus five but a back nine of 29 in glorious sunshine proved hugely enjoyable for the veteran. Westwood credited his wife and caddie, Helen, with triggering the run by providing the former world No 1 with a tuna sandwich on the 10th tee.
Bob MacIntyre, who is now eight shots adrift, summed up the hopelessness of it all for mere mortals. At the start of 2025, MacIntyre asked his caddie to assess how far behind the world's top-ranked player he was in various statistics. Said bag man gave up the process after swiftly realising MacIntyre, then 16th in the rankings, was closer in all departments to No 2 than No 2 was to No 1. It is not the sea air dominating in Portrush. Instead, an air of inevitability.