Scheffler overcomes double bogey to tie for lead at Houston Open

HOUSTON — Scottie Scheffler made double bogey from what he thought was a good shot, responded with back-to-back birdies and finished with a 4-under 66 on Saturday to be part of a five-way tie for the lead in the Houston Open.

Scheffler is trying to become the first player since Dustin Johnson in 2017 to win three consecutive PGA Tour starts, and he would appear to be in the pole position among players with so little experience at winning on tour.

David Skinns, 42, from England, had a 65 and was the first to post at 9-under 201. He was joined by Stephan Jaeger of Germany (66), Thomas Detry of Belgium (67) and Alejandro Tosti of Argentina (68), all of them trying to win on the PGA Tour for the first time.

Three others with one PGA Tour win, including U.S. Amateur champion Nick Dunlap, were another shot behind.

Tony Finau, who had a twoshot lead going into the third round, didn’t make a birdie until the 13th hole on another blustery day at Memorial Park. He salvaged a 72 and was still in the thick of it, just two shots behind.

Adam Svensson of Surrey and Ben Silverman of Thornhill, Ont., are tied for 22nd at 3 under. Taylor Pendrith of Richmond Hill, Ont., is tied for 48th at 1 under. Roger Sloan of Calgary, at even par, is tied for 56th.

Scheffler, the world No. 1, is coming off victories at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and The Players Championship.

“Winning the last two doesn’t help me do anything tomorrow,” Scheffler said. “I think it’s going to be another pretty challenging day out there with high winds. Stick to my process and control what I can control out there.”

Some things were out of his control at Memorial Park.

It was crowded at the top for so much of the day. Scheffler joined the chase with four birdies in a five-hole stretch around the turn, and looked to be on the verge of seizing control. But he turned a birdie chance into bogey when his pitch on the reachable par-4 13th went over the green and he was fortunate his next chip didn’t come back to his feet.

But what flummoxed him was the par-3 15th, with the tee and pin moved forward, making the hole play a mere 121 yards with narrow margins for the miss. Scheffler’s tee shot landed about six feet from the hole and he heard the gallery cheer — and then groan.

The ball spun back just enough to catch a slope, then a steeper slope in front of the green, and it kept rolling right through the rough and into the water. Scheffler covered his mouth with his hand and then began to laugh.

“What are you going to do?” he said to his caddie.

The only option was to take a penalty drop, and he failed to get up-and-down for his second double bogey in two days. “I didn’t expect it to spin back, I didn’t expect it to spin back off the green and I didn’t expect it to be in the water,” he said.