Summary
NASSAU, Bahamas (AP) — Sepp Straka shot a 64-under-par 6, with three birdies and two eagles on par-5 holes, taking advantage of Scottie Scheffler's mistakes to take a one-stroke lead at the end of the third round of the Hero World Challenge. Straka chipped in for eagle on the par-5 6th and kept pace with Scheffler, who started the round with five straight 3s and reached 9-under-par after 15 holes.
Scheffler, seeking his third consecutive victory at Albany Golf Club, has struggled on the final three holes all week: a double bogey on the 16th on Thursday, a bogey on the same hole on Friday, and a bogey-par-bogey finish. Despite this, he finished with a 65 and will be in the final group alongside Straka on Sunday.
Straka made the most of the par 5 holes, in addition to his chip-in on the 6th hole, he sank an 18-foot eagle putt on the par 5 15th hole. He also managed a birdie on the par 5 9th hole, where a shot with his 3-wood left him 15 feet from a two-stroke putt.
Key details
At the start, Straka was three strokes behind Scheffler after five holes and two strokes with four holes remaining, but he finished the day without bogeys, accumulating a total of 18 under par with 198 strokes.
“He definitely got going quickly,” Straka said of the world number one. “He didn’t look like he was going to miss a putt for a while. But this is golf, it usually evens out, and I just tried to focus on my own game.”
The only par 4 on which Straka managed a birdie was the 7th hole, where the tee was moved back, preventing players from reaching the green and forcing them to use a wedge towards a dangerous pin on the back left. Straka took up the challenge and left the ball 7 feet from the green.
Scheffler, who had gone left on the 16th fairway in the first two rounds—one of which resulted in a penalty drop from a bush—found the grass short this time, though things didn't go much better. His stance was awkward, he hit the ball left into a bunker, and it ended up buried in the sand, resulting in a bogey. He also lost a stroke on the 18th after missing the green right—with water on the left—leaving a tricky uphill approach shot.
Statements and context
“Some unfortunate setbacks, but overall I did some very good things,” Scheffler said.
Alex Noren (67) and Hideki Matsuyama (68) are three strokes behind Straka, while JJ Spaun and Wyndham Clark both shot a 69, leaving them four strokes behind the leader.
