Scheffler part of five-way tie for the lead at Houston Open
Ciganda, Shmelzel among leaders in their hometown LPGA Ford Championship
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, a 42-year-old 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 two-shot 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.
Scheffler, the world’s No. 1 player, 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 6 feet from the hole and he heard the gallery cheers — 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.
But he answered with a 4-iron to the green on the par-5 16th and another great shot to a tough pin to 4 feet for birdie on the 17th.
LPGA: In Gilbert, Ariz., Carlota Ciganda shot 6-under 66 to share the lead with fellow hometown favorite Sarah Schmelzel and Hyo
Joo Kim after a blustery third round Saturday in the LPGA Tour Ford Championship.
Two days of ideal conditions and low scoring gave way to gusty wind that had balls oscillating on the greens at Seville Golf and Country Club.
Hannah Green had the overnight lead at 14 under, but quickly fell back as the wind made pulling the right club and even putting difficult.
The leaders found a way to navigate the tough conditions.
An Arizona State alum from Spain, Ciganda had two eagles before the wind started sending plumes of dust across the course, posting an early 15-under 201 in her bid to win for the first time in eight years.
Schmelzel, also an Arizona resident who grew up in the area, shot 70 in her bid to win on the LPGA Tour for the first time. Kim had three birdies in her first four holes and closed with 14 straight pars to shoot 69.
Yuka Saso overcame a four-putt double bogey on No. 15 with two birdies in her final three holes to shoot 69 and reach 14 under. She’s tied with Maja Stark, who had one of the free bogey-free rounds with a 66.
Top-ranked Nelly Korda stayed steady to shoot 69 and is two shots back in her bid to become the first LPGA player to win three straight starts since Ariya Jutanugarn in 2016. She chipped in on the island par-3 17th for a second straight birdie to join 10 players at 13 under.
Lexi Thompson was in that group as well, two-putting for birdie on the par-5 18th for a 69 that put her in contention to win for the first time in five years.