Scottie Scheffler showed his human face on the third day of the Tour Championship, the PGA grand final. On a day marked by two delays due to the threat of an electrical appliance, the first lasting an hour and the second already definitive, the one who has been the leader at the East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta (USA) in the first two rounds had a mundane afternoon , which had him at par on the day and with -19 in total after twelve holes before the suspension. A result that leaves the race for ‘El Gordo’ of 18 million dollars very open for a Sunday in which there will be an extra ration of golf, since it will be time to finish the holes that could not be completed this Saturday due to lack of liz.
The blocking of the number one in the world allowed him to approach dangerous rivals such as his match partner, Xander Schauffele (-1 for -18), who won the tournament in 2017 and lives a new chapter in his particular fairy tale in East Lake. Or the Korean Sungjae Im, a birdie-making machine who at times entered one of his productive trances (-5 between the fifth and eighth, -4 for -16 total).
Rahm, on an erratic day, was in and out of the pursuer’s van harassing the world number one. The Biscayan came out with a bogey, threaded three birdies from 2 to 6, stopped with consecutive bogeys at 7 and 8, recovered his pulse in the ninth with a birdie, lost camber again at 11, counteracted at 12… a shaker of emotions with an episode of frustration in minute 11, when he closed his tee shot too much and kicked one of his irons after throwing it to the ground. With -1 to -14, he hit a bite of a distance impact with Scheffler, who remains in five heading into the outcome.
Justin Thomas, another who, like Schauffele, has taken the measure of the tournament, was going for 64 shots with a -6 to -14 after 17 holes. Before the honk he had missed a given birdie putt. Another breath on Scheffler’s neck. It also has that of Rory McIlroy, champion in 2016 and 2019, who after 16 holes was -5 to -15. And he had the candy of 18 in an East Lake that favored a festival of birdies. Many go to the debt of a Scheffler who is going to have to sweat the victory after leaving with an advantage.