Scottie Scheffler surges into contention with back-nine 29 at 3M Open

Scottie Scheffler sometimes makes the most impressive of scoring efforts seem mundane. Low rounds and climbing the leaderboard, these days, seems to be table stakes when we’re talking about the No. 1-ranked player in the world.

But when Scheffler does what he did Saturday afternoon, it remains as impressive as ever.

Scheffler shot a back-nine 29 at TPC Twin Cities and a third-round 64, his low round of the week so far, and will be firmly in the mix heading into Sunday’s finale at the 3M Open.

The game’s top player had a pedestrian first nine with a bogey on No. 3 before making birdies on Nos. 4 and 6. He hit a wayward approach on the par-4 ninth leading to a bogey before making the turn.

With a smile, Scheffler said there was no way he could repeat what he told himself as he made the turn on the record, but whatever that pep talk was, it worked wonders on the back nine.

“Golf’s funny like that,” Scheffler said Saturday after his round. “I didn't really feel like I was that much different on the back nine than I was on the front, just I holed a couple putts and hit the ball just slightly closer on the back nine.”

Scheffler got on a hot run to open his back nine, making three birdies in a row to start. He missed a 19-footer for another birdie on No. 13 and scrambled nicely for a par on No. 14 after hitting his tee ball into the fairway bunker.

He rolled in a 6-foot birdie on the par-4 15th before pitching in from the greenside rough on No. 16 for an eagle.

“Hit a decent drive, just pulled it slightly but left myself in a good spot there with an uphill chip. Yeah, it's always nice when those from off the green can go in,” Scheffler said.

Scheffler then hit an impressive chip from behind the green and in the thick rough on No. 17 before coming to No. 18 with history on the line – had he rolled in his eagle, he would have been the first golfer to ever shoot 28 on the back nine of TPC Twin Cities. Alas, it was not to be, but an easy birdie to close out his day left Scheffler with a chance to win for the second time on the PGA TOUR this season.

Over the past five seasons on the PGA TOUR, this marked Scheffler’s 41st round of 64 or better. The next closest golfer on that list, Eric Cole, has just 24 of those rounds.

It was also a tidy turnaround for Scheffler on his back nine Saturday after he shot a 2-over 38 on the same stretch of holes the day prior.

“After the back nine yesterday and front nine today, it was a pretty frustrating stretch of golf for me, so to be able to stay in the tournament was definitely nice with a good back nine today,” Scheffler said.

“I'm always just trying to execute and hit the right shots. You can only do so much on the golf course. You can't force your way into making birdies, you've just got to give yourself opportunities. Today, did a good job of staying patient after a tough front nine and making some birdies here on the back.”

Scheffler has made winning a habit, certainly over the last three years, and he’s proven he can do it in any fashion. He’s come from behind to win a half-dozen of his PGA TOUR titles after trailing through 54 holes – including earlier this season, when he trailed Si Woo Kim by one heading into Sunday at The American Express – and he’ll need to do it again this week in Minnesota.

It may sometimes look boring, but winning is always fun. Scheffler has a chance to do exactly that again.

“We’ll see how far back I am going into tomorrow but shouldn’t be out of the tournament,” Scheffler said. “Another low number tomorrow and should be able to give myself a decent chance.”