PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – Scottie Scheffler was painfully realistic about his chances to win a third Players Championship following a bounce-back 67 on Saturday.
“Not unless it starts blowing like 30 mph [in the afternoon],” the world No. 1 laughed when asked if he’d done enough to seriously contend for the top prize of the tournament’s $25 million purse.
That gale never arrived and Scheffler’s title chances are unlikely, but his bogey-free round did right a ship that hasn’t been sailing smoothly the last few weeks.
Following a tie for 24th at last week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational, his first finish outside the top 15 since last year’s Players Championship, he was tied for 26th when he completed his third round, which began five hours before the leaders teed off.
Scheffler was much more Scheffler-like in the third round, particularly off the tee. After struggling for two days with his driver, he picked up shots on the field in strokes gained: off the tee for the first time this week and found 11 of 14 fairways. His iron play and putting also improved on Saturday.
“I was a little sharper today than I was the first two days. I felt like I was swinging it better each day of the tournament. Today hit a few more fairways and was able to give myself a few more looks for birdie,” he said. “Did I find anything? I think that would imply that I was lost, which is not the case. No, I think I’m always just trying to get a feel for where things are at, and sometimes a little practice helps, and sometimes a little rest helps.”
That wasn’t the case on Friday as Scheffler flirted with his first missed cut since 2022. Bogeys at Nos. 14 and 16 left him at 2 over par and on the cut line before a birdie at the 18th hole helped secure him weekend rounds at TPC Sawgrass.
“I think with the way I hit it the first couple days, to kind of have the attitude that I did and the fight that I did, when I look at tournaments, I’m not thinking about winning, I’m thinking about approaching things the right way,” Scheffler said.
“I did my best to stay committed and I did a good job, I think, of keeping the right attitude and keeping my head on straight in order to grind out a couple rounds that were difficult.”