Scheffler still in play
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler remained on the leaderboard at 7‑under and is considered capable of charging if scoring creeps toward 13‑under ( ).
Scottie Scheffler got back into the Masters on Saturday with a 7-under 65, leaving him four shots behind the co-leaders entering Sunday at Augusta National. (espn.com, cbssports.com) After 54 holes, Rory McIlroy and Cameron Young were tied at 11-under, Sam Burns was third at 10-under, and Scheffler was tied for seventh at 7-under with Haotong Li. Augusta National is playing as a par 72 at 7,565 yards this week. (espn.com) Scheffler started Saturday at even par after rounds of 70 and 74, then erased much of the damage with an eagle on the par-5 second and birdies on Nos. 7, 8, 9, 11 and 16. His 65 matched the low round of the day and the tournament. (pgatour.com, cbssports.com) The round was bogey-free, and Scheffler said his iron play drove it. “I hit it really nice today,” he said after giving himself birdie chances from 8 feet on No. 11, 18 feet on No. 12, 15 feet on No. 13 and 13 feet on No. 14. (pgatour.com) The opening changed because McIlroy’s six-shot 36-hole lead, the largest in Masters history at that stage, disappeared during a third round of 73. Cameron Young shot 65 to pull even, and Burns added a 68 to move within one. (cbssports.com, espn.com) That left Sunday with a tighter target than it appeared on Friday night. Scheffler was still behind six players, but the lead was no longer out at 13-under or 14-under after McIlroy’s stumble. (espn.com, golfchannel.com) Scheffler has won the Masters twice in seven starts, and his 31 on the front nine Saturday was his best first nine in the tournament. He also entered the week as the world No. 1, which is why a four-shot gap still looks playable with one round left. (pgatour.com, espn.com) There was also room for Scheffler to go lower. The PGA Tour’s round recap noted he played the back-nine par 5s, Nos. 13 and 15, in 2 over for the week through Saturday, while McIlroy had birdied both in each of his first two rounds. (pgatour.com) Sunday’s question is simple: whether Scheffler can post another number in the mid-60s before McIlroy, Young and Burns get to the closing stretch. After Saturday’s 65, he is close enough that Augusta’s last round can still bring him back into the middle of the tournament. (espn.com, pgatour.com)
