The Riverside Press-Enterprise
Scheffler in spot to defend title, return to No. 1
Scottie Scheffler held on to the lead Saturday at the WM Phoenix Open in a bid to successfully defend his title and regain the No. 1 spot in the world.
The second-ranked Scheffler shot a 3-under 68 in front of some 200,000 fans — including WNBA star Brittney Griner — at TPC Scottsdale to get to 13 under, two strokes ahead of thirdranked Jon Rahm and Nick Taylor.
“Something I talked about at the beginning of the week was I felt like I’ve been on the outside looking in on Sundays,” Scheffler said. “To be in the final group with a two-shot lead, I believe, is definitely a position I want to be in. I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”
Rahm also had a 68, holing a 40-footer for birdie on the stadium 16th for his third birdie in four holes.
“A couple of swings that weren’t that bad put me in some bad situations,” Rahm said. “I was able to scramble really well.”
Griner watched the action on rowdy 16th. The Phoenix Mercury center is spending time at home to recover from her time in a Russian jail. She was traded in a dramatic prisoner swap in December. Taylor shot 67.
“It’s fun being in this environment,” Taylor said. “I think if you’re not having fun, you probably shouldn’t be doing what we’re doing. It’s a lot of fun.”
Scheffler would take the No. 1 spot from Rory Mcilroy — tied for 28th at 3 under after a 70 — with a victory, as long as Mcilroy finishes worse than solo third. Scheffler also could get to No. 1 by finishing solo second if Mcilroy is 36th or worse and Rahm doesn’t win.
Rahm, the former Arizona State star from Spain, would go to No. 1 with a victory if Mcilroy finishes worse than a three-way tie for second, or by finishing solo second if Mcilroy finishes worse than solo 47th and Scheffler doesn’t win.
Jordan Spieth and Adam Hadwin were 10 under.
Speith had the best score in the delayed second round, finishing off a 63 in the morning. He added a 69 in the third round, highlighted by a 77yard bunker shot to 3 feet to set up a birdie on the par-4 17th.
“I could drop a bucket of balls and not hit another one inside of 10 feet,” Spieth said. “I feel like a strength of my game is those kind of in-between bunker shots that are normally some of the most challenging shots in golf. For whatever reason I just feel comfortable in the uncomfortable in those kind of situations.”
Hadwin had a 71, playing in the final group with Scheffler and Rahm.
PGA Tour Champions
Stephen Ames’ game was sharp, but the trophy he’s bringing home is even sharper.
Ames ran away with the Trophy Hassan II at Royal Golf Dar Es Salam in Rabat, Morocco, for his third PGA Tour Champions victory. He went wire-to-wire, carding an even-par 72 final round to finish at 9 under for the tournament.
His final round consisted of 18 pars. His reward? A giant knife.
Mark Hensby got as close as one shot behind Ames, but a pair of double bogeys let Ames cruise to victory. Hensby finished second, his highest finish in 11 career starts on the PGA Tour Champions.
DP World Tour
Wang Jeung-hun and Alejandro del Rey both shot 6-under 66 to sit atop the leaderboard after three rounds of the Singapore Classic.
They were both 14-under 202 overall. Englishman Richard Mansell was one shot behind after a 65.