Dublin, Ohio — Scotty Schaeffler felt he was hitting all the right shots and had 13 straight pars to show it on Saturday on a tough day at the monument. As always, he had a strong finishing kick and the world’s number one player got caught up in a familiar place.
Schaeffler had four birdies on the final five holes of 4 under 68 at Myrefield Village, six shots late when he made the turn.
“I don’t know what the scoring average is today, but I was definitely proud of the way I was finished, and it was really challenging,” Schaeffler said. “Through the 13 holes, I felt like I was playing really well.
And that became a difficult task for everyone to chase him. Schaeffler won the final eight times in the PGA Championship two weeks ago, earning a 54-hole lead. He wins his third in the final four starts.
As shown on Saturday, when there is a possibility that a lot can happen very quickly in Muirfield Village, five players are not five players within five shots of the lead, and no one is thrown into the towel.
And it starts with Griffin. Griffin won his first individual PGA Tour title at the Colonial last week, and it didn’t bother Schaeffler a bit that he was the guy he was chasing.
“Obviously, Scotty Schaeffler is the best player in the world, but he can go first,” Griffin said. “I feel like you know now… I beat him last week. Obviously he’s getting rid of a big win. But yeah, he clearly feels he’s been beaten.
The 57 players who made the cut had a score average of 73.9, with three players unsuccessful at breaking the 80. Schaeffler, the only player to beat all three rounds, was 208 under 208.
Griffin became the only player to reach 10 under par this week when he ran through three straight birdies from No. 6. And he returned it all with three straight bogeys, either in fairway or teebox bogeys, and four straight bogeys.
Schaeffler was hiding as usual. He has the eerie knack of wandering around by the end of the day and winding it up with a low score. This was no exception.
“I saw Ben go 10 under, but it won’t change my play in the middle of Saturday,” Schaeffler said. “This golf course is really challenging and the leads are not safe around this place. I knew I would be in a position to chase him tomorrow if I continued and had a decent round.”
He followed after drilling a 10-foot birdie putt (his first of the day) on the 14th, then riding on the green collar on the 15th on the par 5 for a simple birdie. He slammed a seven iron into the wind for a birdie and closed with a final birdie from within 15 feet that ultimately gave him the lead.
He’s no longer chasing, and he’s a difficult customer to track.
Jordan Spieth also failed to save Parr from the bunker on the 17th and entered the creek on the 18th, closed his bogey and ran for 72. He felt better about the game.
There was only one problem. Spieth spoke about his enjoyment of getting involved in the mix, making six birdies on a rigorous course, and having to keep moving in that direction. And he stopped.
“What’s sad for me is Scotty’s seven or eight (bottom) and he just… you can’t expect him to shoot again tomorrow,” Spieth said. “So it’s going to need something special. But overall, we’re just trying to film a few people here under some of them every day.”
Canada’s Nick Taylor caused a three-shot after the age of 74, which is why he was grateful for the last time. Taylor went into the water, made a double bogey with a demonic par-3, followed by a bogey, and was out of the conflict. And he drilled a hole from the fairway for the Eagle on the 14th, birding the next hole and performing that four stretch with par.
The best round belonged to Sepp Straka, who won two PGA Tours this year. He posted 66 as the leader was just starting out and was in a 3-under 213 group that included Spieth and Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley (68).
Patrick Cantray and Ricky Fowler each shot 69 and joined Shane Lowry (73) with 214. It’s a long way and can feel even longer with Schaeffler chasing.
“It’s a tough golf course. I’m going to chase him,” Taylor said. “He’s clearly playing incredible, so I’ll have to play some of my best golf to hunt there in the last few holes.