Scottie Scheffler, Si Woo Kim Set Up Texas Showdown

Si Woo Kim has the lead, Scottie Scheffler has the hometown roar, and THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson suddenly has the kind of Sunday setup golf fans dream about.

At TPC Craig Ranch, this isn’t about protecting par. It’s about surviving a birdie race. Kim sits at 21-under after three rounds, two shots clear of Scheffler and Wyndham Clark, both at 19-under.

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With soft greens, calm weather and a leaderboard loaded with firepower, Sunday in McKinney could turn into a full-on shootout.

Kim didn’t exactly cruise through Saturday, either. He started the day with a five-shot cushion, then watched it disappear after back-to-back bogeys on Nos. 10 and 11.

That’s when things could’ve gotten messy. Instead, Kim steadied himself, leaned on his caddie’s reminder to slow down and answered with birdies on 12, 14 and 15.

That’s been his whole identity this week. Kim has piled up 26 birdies through 54 holes, just one shy of the PGA TOUR record for birdies through three rounds. For the season, he’s already up to 270 birdies, the most on TOUR. Translation: he’s not trying to win ugly.

But Scheffler isn’t going away quietly. The defending champion fired a 6-under 65 on Saturday with seven birdies, keeping himself firmly in the hunt.

He won this event last year at a ridiculous 31-under, and now he gets another shot at a Dallas-area Sunday charge in front of a crowd that will absolutely be behind him.

The local angle only adds more spice. Kim and Scheffler are friends from nearby Royal Oaks Country Club, and now they’re basically turning a PGA TOUR final round into a neighborhood heavyweight fight.

Clark, meanwhile, is lurking with the same score as Scheffler after his own 65. Stephan Jaeger, Tom Hoge and Sungjae Im are five back at 16-under, close enough to matter if someone goes nuclear early.

TPC Craig Ranch underwent a $25 million renovation designed to toughen the place up, with reshaped greens, new bunkering and more demanding looks.

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But rain-softened conditions and light wind have kept the scoring pedal mashed.

Sunday won’t be subtle. Kim has the lead. Scheffler has the crowd. Clark has the firepower.

Somebody’s going to have to go low.

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