Scottie Scheffler fired a back-nine 29 and third-round 64 at the 3M Open, surging into Sunday with another cold-blooded PGA Tour comeback in sight for the win.
Scottie Scheffler spent nine holes looking surprisingly human Saturday at the 3M Open. Then the world’s No. 1 golfer turned TPC Twin Cities into his personal highlight reel.
Scheffler torched the back nine in 29 strokes, firing a third-round 64 that shoved him directly into the championship conversation entering Sunday. It was the kind of sudden, violent leaderboard assault that has become his trademark ... quiet, clinical and almost unfair.
The opening nine offered little warning of what was coming. Scheffler mixed two birdies with two bogeys, including a dropped shot at No. 9 that sent him to the turn without much momentum.
Whatever conversation he had with himself after that bogey clearly worked.
Scheffler birdied Nos. 10, 11 and 12, narrowly missed another opportunity at the 13th and then kept applying pressure. A six-foot birdie at No. 15 pushed the round into another gear before he delivered the shot of the day at No. 16.
Playing from the greenside rough, Scheffler sent his ball rolling toward the cup and watched it disappear for a 55-foot eagle. Suddenly, a historic 28 on the back nine was possible.
He didn’t quite get there. Scheffler saved par from a difficult position behind the 17th green and made birdie on the par-5 18th, closing with a seven-under 29.
“Golf’s funny like that,” Scheffler said, explaining that his play didn’t feel dramatically different after the turn. The putts simply began falling, and his approach shots finished a little closer.
That’s usually all Scheffler needs.
The 64 was his 41st PGA Tour round of 64 or lower over the last five seasons. Eric Cole ranks second during that span with 24, a massive gap that illustrates just how routinely Scheffler produces scores most players celebrate for years.
Saturday’s explosion was also a dramatic reversal from Friday, when Scheffler played the same back nine in two-over 38. That’s a nine-shot turnaround across those holes in less than 24 hours.
Scheffler has already won six PGA Tour events after entering the final round behind the leader. He did it again earlier this season at The American Express after trailing Si Woo Kim by one through 54 holes.
Now, another Sunday ambush is brewing in Minnesota.
“Another low number tomorrow” could give him a chance, Scheffler said. Considering who’s chasing, the leaders should probably sleep with one eye open.
