BAHAMAS, Bahamas — In his round of 7-under 65 on Saturday, Scottie Scheffler made two birdies. This gave the world’s best golfer another chance to win the Hero World Challenge. Tiger Woods will be there at the end, but only to give out the prize.
Scheffler was never really out of place until the very end of his round. At Albany, he made par on the 16th hole but bogeyed his only shot on the 18th, giving him a three-shot lead over Matt Fitzpatrick, who also had a 65.
In fact, Scheffler has been in the running for Woods’ tournament in the Bahamas before; he came in second place to Viktor Hovland the last two years. It is also common for Woods to be out of the running, mostly because he is usually healing from injuries.
He has played in the Bahamas five times, but has only come within 10 shots of the winner once. It looks like this year will be no different. For the third round in a row, Woods went over par on the back nine. He had to settle for a 71, which put him 16 shots behind Scheffler.
But this isn’t just about golf. Woods just got back from another surgery that kept him out of golf for almost eight months. On Sunday, he will play in a 72-hole event for the first time since February at Riviera.
He said that other parts of his body, not his ankle, have been sore, but those areas have healed faster than expected after each round.
Woods said, “I still have game.” “It’s about whether the body can do it.” I’m happily surprised by how well I’ve been getting better every day. “My workouts at the gym have been good.”
The game has been all over the place.
Woods started the round with two straight bogeys, but he came back with four birdies on the front nine. On the back nine, he again missed the cut on the par-5s. He missed the 11th green with a wedge, and on the 15th, he missed a birdie putt that was only 3 feet away.
He thought his score should have been in the high 60s, but he was happy with his health.
“To be able to get rid of some of the rust this week and show myself that I can get better every day, that was kind of a surprise,” he said. “I’ve come this far.” I am now fully trained. But also play, focus, energy, and all the other things that make things go faster, and I’m really happy with how the week has turned out.
He was 16 strokes under 200. The week after the Ryder Cup, Fitzpatrick won the Dunhill Links Championship. He birdied his last two holes and will play with Scheffler in the last group.
Justin Thomas was five shots behind with a score of 68. Scheffler and Jordan Spieth were tied at the start of the third round. Spieth quickly fell behind when he hit his drive into the trees on the par-5 third hole, which resulted in a penalty drop and a three-shot swing. Spieth made bogey, while Scheffler made a 15-foot eagle putt.
Spieth was six shots behind with a score of 71.
Scheffler has hit the golf ball farther than anyone else this year, both off the tee and into the greens. His only weakness has been his putting. He has been working with Phil Kenyon, a putting teacher, for a few months now and looks better. His shots that scored were all more than 12 feet away.
Scheffler said, “I don’t think I’m as confused about what I need to work on. A lot of that has to do with how I’m set up over the ball.” “I feel like my mechanics are really good when I’m in the right place.” That is what I am thinking about.”
