Scottie Scheffler turns shank into par save at Memorial

Scottie Scheffler’s attempt at a three-peat at the Memorial Tournament isn’t off to the best start, but at the very least, he didn’t let a rare shank turn into a dropped shot on Friday.

Scheffler was in the bunker at the par-5 fifth and had 81 feet to the hole. In an uncharacteristic flub, the world No. 1 shanked his ensuing shot — his third of the hole — hitting the ball out of the bunker but to the right into the rough — now 53 feet to the hole.

What could’ve been an up-and-down birdie turned into a must-make for Scheffler’s momentum on the front nine — and make it he did.

Scheffler chipped onto the green and holed a 7-footer to card a ‘5' and stay at even par for his round.

That momentum seemed to wane as the four-time major champ made the turn at 2 over, carding two bogeys to close the first nine. He tacked on another bogey on the par-4 10th.

“I felt like I was going to shoot about 90 today,” Scheffler said after his round. "...around this golf course, with heavy rough and deep bunkers, you got to be hitting the ball in the right spots and for a long time today that was definitely not the case for me.”

the Memorial Tournament - Rd 3

Watch the third round of the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio.

The tide turned on the par-4 13th, when Scheffler hit a beautiful approach shot from 101 yards out. He cozied the ball up to within 3 feet for an easy birdie.

His putter turned hot for two more birdies to close — one off a nearly 22-foot putt on the par-5 15th and a second from over 40 feet on the par-3 16th. The PGA Tour make percentage for those shots was 13% and 4%, respectively. That brought Scheffler in at even-par for the day and still at 1 over to enter the weekend.

“That’s maybe some of the worst I’ve hit it in a couple years out there, and I still managed to shoot even-par around a golf course that requires to you strike the ball really well,” Scheffler said. “Yeah, I’m definitely very proud of stuff like that.

“This tournament was one that definitely could have got away from me, but right now I’m only nine shots back and still have a chance going into the weekend. With the conditions the way they are, you never really know what’s going to happen around this golf course and just getting inside the cut line you still have a chance.”