Scheffler in position for fifth win
FORT WORTH, Texas — Scottie Scheffler almost made it through another round at Colonial Country Club without a bogey, this time with wind gusting through the trees at Hogan’s Alley. Even with that streak ending, the No. 1 player in the Official World Golf Ranking had the lead all to himself after the third round of the PGA Tour’s Charles Schwab Challenge. Scheffler, whose only bogey through the first three rounds was Saturday’s three-putt on No. 17, shot a 2-under-par 68 with wind gusts of around 30 mph and temperatures in the upper 90s. He was at 11-under 199 through 54 holes, two strokes ahead of Brendon Todd (65) and Scott Stallings (70). “It was really tough out there,” Scheffler said. “The winds were up really high. The greens were actually pretty firm, and so it was challenging.” Scheffler’s missed cut at the PGA Championship last weekend was his first since his season debut in October, and now the Masters champion goes into Sunday’s final round with a chance for his fifth career PGA Tour victory — all in a span of 10 starts since mid-February. The most PGA Tour player with five wins in a season before the start of June was Tom Watson in 1980.
TENNIS
› PARIS — It’s been so long since the WTA’s No. 1-ranked Iga Swiatek lost — 31 matches now — and even since she ceded so much as a set — that last happened more than a month ago — that she could be forgiven if she couldn’t recall how to react when in trouble on a tennis court. Which is why it was worth watching as the 2020 French Open champion navigated a couple of tricky spots Saturday in the third round at Roland Garros. Turns out Swiatek didn’t panic and didn’t allow thoughts about this dominant run coming to an end distract her in what would become a 6-3, 7-5 victory against 95th-ranked Danka Kovinic, a hard hitter from Montenegro. “Thinking about all these stats, it’s not really helpful. So basically I try to be really strict in terms of my thoughts and try to really focus on … finding solutions,” said Swiatek, a 20-year-old from Poland whose last name is pronounced shvee-ON’-tek. “The thoughts are there, but I’m accepting that.” Her next opponent is Zheng Qinwen, a 19-year-old from China who is ranked 74th and in her second Grand Slam tournament; she was ahead 6-0, 3-0 when Alize Cornet stopped playing because of a left leg injury. Five Americans remain in the women’s singles draw, including No. 22 seed Madison Keys and No. 11 Jessica Pegula, the only top-15 seed left besides Swiatek. Keys came back to beat Elena Rybakina 3-6, 6-1, 7-6 (3), while Pegula eliminated 2021 semifinalist Tamara Zidansek, 6-1, 7-6 (2).
SOCCER
› PARIS — Real Madrid became Europe’s top club for a record-extending 14th time after beating Liverpool 1-0 in Saturday’s Champions League final at the Stade de France. Brazil winger Vinícius Júnior applied a close-range finish in the 59th minute from Federico Valverde’s drive across the face of goal, securing a win that gave Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti a record fourth European Cup title. While Madrid completed a Champions League-La Liga double, Liverpool finished a season that promised so much — a week earlier, it was in contention for an unprecedented quadruple of major trophies — with just the two domestic cups in England. The English team couldn’t find a way past Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, who tipped Sadio Mane’s first-half shot onto the post and produced an even better save to turn away Mohamed Salah’s effort in the 81st. Madrid underlined its status as the king of European soccer: The Spanish giant owns double the number of European Cups as No. 2 AC Milan of Italy.