Scottie Scheffler has built a two-shot lead heading into the final round of the FedEx St. Jude Championship. He last won on the PGA Tour in January at the American Express event, and has finished runner-up five times since then. Scheffler is currently at 13-under 197 after shooting a 68 in the third round on Saturday. He is tied for the lead with Sam Burns and Sungjae Im, who are both at 11-under par.
Scheffler said his strategy remains unchanged going into Sunday’s final round, according to Yardbarker. He believes execution on this particular course is key to success. After a slow start Saturday, Scheffler managed to finish with a 68 that included a few crucial putts.
Burns posted an 8-under 62 in the second round and was among those who moved into contention, according to a report from AOL. Burns played without a bogey and led the field in total strokes gained. He has been playing well this season despite not winning yet.
Scheffler and Burns are scheduled to play together in Sunday’s final round. The two have a close friendship and Scheffler said it feels strange playing against someone he wants to succeed. Burns praised Scheffler’s consistent play and said he expects a strong performance from him on Sunday.
Sungjae Im also played well, finishing with a 67 in his round. Im said he learned from watching Scheffler play and that he’s focused on each shot during the final round.
This is the first event in the FedEx Cup playoffs and the top 50 players based on season points will advance to next week’s BMW Championship. Scheffler is currently ranked as the world No. 1 and has had 11 top-10 finishes this season.
Despite his strong performance, Scheffler has not yet won a tournament since his first tournament of the season. He struggled with bogeys in both the second and third rounds of Saturday’s play.
Other players still in contention include Jake Knapp and Tommy Fleetwood, who are tied for fourth at 9-under par. Fleetwood said he’s still focused on the challenge ahead and hopes his game improves in the final round.
Brian Harman is outside the top 50 and still needs to make progress to qualify for next week’s event. Harman admitted this season has been difficult but believes his game could turn around soon.
Viktor Hovland briefly moved into the lead but had a poor stretch that led to a 72 and dropped him to 10th place. Jordan Spieth also struggled on Saturday with a 72, finishing at 4-under par and tied for 19th.
The tournament is being held at TPC Southwind in Memphis, Tennessee, newstribune.com reported. Scheffler’s performance on this course has been inconsistent, especially after matching the course record with a 61 in his second round.
He remains one of the contenders heading into the weekend’s final round.
IMAGE: YouTube description: Total performance from tee to green – it’s why Scottie Scheffler has trusted a Pro V1 golf ball for all five of his PGA TOUR wins.👌. Photo: Titleist / Wikimedia, taken 2023-02-12, CC BY 3.0