CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Scotty Schaeffler’s shuffle feet freeze for them as the ball sailed through the air. He saw the tee shot parabola reaching its peak before landing exactly where he needed it. It’s slightly below the 14th green, bounding forward, and rolling onto the surface like a pad.
304 yards apart, Schaeffler had the ball down two feet from the hole, nine inches. The subsequent Eagle Putt was the format that united him to lead him at 8 under, but could have also served as a flashing sign around the Quail Hollow Country Club, which has announced one of the pro golf maxims over the past two years. Scotty Schaeffler is inevitable.
During the first two days at the PGA Championship, the eclectic leaderboard featured several unexpected names. However, it was as if the law of gravity was true once again when Schaeffler eagled 14 Saturday, chasing birdies at 15, 17 and 18 to reach 11 under, securing a complete 54-hole lead with three shots. Even this major was unique and perplexed as well as over 36 holes, so they ultimately had to find the centre.
“We’re trying to focus as much as we can on running the shots. There’s something we can’t control,” Schaeffler said. “We can’t control what other people are doing, we can’t grasp the bad gusts of wind, we can’t control how the ball responds when it hits green.
While Schaeffler cresced his lead, he felt his inevitability was reinforced by the fact that others began to decline. Quail Hollow’s painstaking green miles stretch gave Jon Rahm a bogey at 17, and involved a round of Bryson De Danbo with a double bogey in the same hole.
“I’ll be in the major championship in three rounds, three rounds,” Deccanbeau said as he finished the round. “So I can’t complain too much.”
“I think starting tomorrow, I’ll be at least one shot,” said two-time winner Rahm after reaching 6 under Saturday. “But that’s a great position.”
The only problem was that Schaeffler cruised the 2-under green mile with more holes still playing for the world’s No. 1 player. On Sunday, Rahm begins his five shots of Schaeffler. DeChambeau needs to make up for six.
The three players are closer to Scheffler heading on Sunday than Rahm. Alex Noren, 42, is recovering from a hamstring tendon tear, and will play with Schaeffler in three shots. Noren finished with a tie that ranked 51st in last week’s Toruist Championship. Davis Riley and JT Poston both continue at 7 under. Riley has two top 10 finishes this season. He also misses five cuts and misses more major cuts of his career than he did. Meanwhile, Poston has never won more than 30 major championships.
In other words, Schaeffler doesn’t have the best player in the world who will immediately chase him. That’s why, despite their respective deficits, Rahm and Deccanbeau may be Schaeffler’s most capable enemies. Rahm and Dedanbo are also hoping for a big third victory.
This is the first time Rahm has had the opportunity to compete for the majors and add to his tally since he joined LIV. Winning the PGA Championship doesn’t just put him in three majors. That means he will arrive at the Open Championship at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland and complete the Grand Slam with a chance to do what Rory McIlroy did.
“It’s hard to describe how hungry I am. “I’m so happy to be able to be located again.”
Rahm has been stable this week. He led the field with strokes obtained from the tee, finishing 20th in the approach game, but lost almost complete strokes around the green. The performance is as complete as he’s had in the majors since the Master won in 2023, but he may not have enough firepower to catch Schaeffler.
Deccanbeau’s third round stalled what looked like another Sunday in the majors heading apart a or two away from the lead. It’s no surprise that this course will be a decanboe’s eye as he drives the ball well. But like Augusta, his approach game (54th in the field this week) may once again sacrifice his real shot at his third major title.
“What I can do is control what I have control, and if I went outside and filmed a 6 or 7 under, that’s what I was focusing on what I was doing,” Deccanbeau said before adding an important warning. “That’s not what you’re trying to do, but you never know.”
Most of the attention was rightly surrounded McIlroy as he was led by Quail Hollow. McIlroy had a historic, sport-changing victory at the Masters, which secured the much-anticipated Grand Slam. However, Schaeffler, who just won the latest tournament he played in eight shots, was still considered a co-star and remained the true standard of the sport.
During the first two days, Schaeffler filmed 69 and 68 casual rounds. It wasn’t particularly impressive as his ability to film under PA without the best became a second nature. The bar he set for himself is so high, the only way he can surprise is if he doesn’t finish inside the top 10 in the tournament. Even in itself is not sufficient. He has won six top 10 finishes this season, but was surprised at the state of his game as he didn’t win until Byron Nelson two weeks ago. Schaeffler showed complaints on the course, but he continues to preach patience.
“Golf is not a game where you can force things. If you’re playing a sport like football or basketball, you can force things based on pushing people out of adrenaline and out of the way,” Schaeffler said. “Golf, I feel like it’s coming to you, and I think you have to be far more patient than other sports, especially the course of the 72-hole tournament.”
This week, Schaeffler once again played like the best player in the world. Ranked inside the top 10 in strokes. Most importantly, his putts are more than serviceable (36th in the field), and his constantly impressive notion that he can come back from bad shots and holes seems to be in the best form. It’s exactly the kind of recipe that won him two green jackets.
“I’m there to make the most of myself and try to beat it on the golf course. At the end of the day, that’s what I focused on,” Schaeffler said.
On Sunday, Schaeffler has the luxury of not thinking about anyone other than himself. His pursuers may say they focus only on what they control, but deep down, they know.