AUGUSTA, GA. — Scottie Scheffler is in the lead.
At a major championship.
At the Masters.
Again.
Scheffler, the No. 1-ranked player in the world and the 2022 Masters champion, will take a one-shot lead into the final round in his quest to win a second green jacket in three years Sunday at Augusta National.
Scheffler, who shot a 1-under 71 on Saturday, is 7-under.
Collin Morikawa, a two-time major winner, is one shot off the lead at 6-under after shooting 69 on Saturday, one of only two rounds in the 60s posted in the entire third round.
The past 27 Masters champions have been within four shots entering the final round.
Max Homa is two shots back at 5-under in his pursuit of a first career major championship.
Swedish youngster Ludvig Aberg, playing in his first major championship at age 24, is 4-under, three shots back.
And then there’s the polarizing can’t-take-your-eyes-off-him Bryson DeChambeau, who entered the day with a share of the lead, at 3-under par and four shots back after a wild day that saw him seemingly play his way out of the tournament with a rugged back nine.
Until he holed out from 80 yards out on his third shot on the 18th hole for birdie.
DeChambeau, who’d pushed his tee shot into the right trees and had to punch out, looked distraught and near tears after throwing his chances away before he hit his third shot.
Then he jarred it and sent a surge of electricity around the 18th green. Suddenly, he still has a chance.
It was yet another amazing day at the Masters, which produces them as often as patrons buy those Masters gnomes from the merchandise pavilion.
On a day when there were rampant rumors that Taylor Swift was going to be on the grounds (she was never sighted), Tiger Woods shot an 82, the highest score in his 99 career rounds at the Masters.
And now there’s a dramatic final round ahead as the main course Sunday, one littered with compelling storylines.
If Scheffler wins, it cements him into a place of dominance in the game no one has displayed since Woods was in his prime.
If Morikawa wins, he suddenly catapults himself into a position where he’ll go to Pinehurst for the U.S. Open in June with a chance to become the sixth player in history to complete a career Grand Slam, with all four major championships on his résumé.
If Homa wins, it becomes one of the most popular wins by one of the most popular players in the sport.
If DeChambeau wins, it’s a massive victory for not only DeChambeau, the 2020 U.S. Open winner, but for LIV Golf. Greg Norman, the polarizing LIV Golf CEO, has been on the grounds all week, having purchased his own after-market badge to get on to the grounds.
Can you imagine the scene if DeChambeau wins and his first hug on the 18th green is the Great White Shark, who’s unquestionably the most tragic figure in the tournament’s history?
Talk about delicious drama.
Since 2014, every Masters winner except one has emerged from Sunday’s final pairing. The only exception was Danny Willett in 2016, who took advantage of Jordan Spieth’s back-nine implosion in the final round. That fact would suggest either Scheffler or Morikawa will win Sunday.
Asked what his win in 2022 might do to help him win a second green jacket, Scheffler said, “I think I’ll have a better understanding of what the morning is like tomorrow.’’
Scheffler was transparent two years ago when he talked about breaking down in tears in front of his wife, Meredith, the morning of the final round, telling her he wasn’t sure if he was ready to handle the pressure of winning a Masters.
“It will be a little different,’’ he said of this Sunday morning.
Meredith is back home in Dallas, pregnant with the couple’s first child and due at the end of the month.
Scheffler, saying he “didn’t want to be alone at the house’’ this weekend, revealed he “recruited a few of my friends to come stay with me that were in town.’’
Scheffler, who rarely displays a lot of outward emotion, had two moments Saturday when you could feel what it means to him.
He double-bogeyed the 10th hole to fall from 7-under to 5-under and then bogeyed No. 11 to drop to 4-under, two shots out of the lead. When he eagled the par-5 13th, though, Scheffler unleashed a couple of violent fist pumps.
Later, when he birdied the 18th hole after stuffing a majestic approach shot close, he let out another fist pump, knowing that would secure him a spot in the Sunday final group.
The only thing right now that seems like it could derail Scheffler from winning again is Meredith should she go into labor and summon her husband from Amen Corner to the delivery room.
Scheffler said he’s prepared to leave the tournament at any moment if he gets the call.
Asked if he thinks Meredith will call if she knows he’s about to win another Masters, Scheffler said, “She better call.’’
