List in the hunt at Houston Open

HOUSTON — Scottie Scheffler was a key figure in the U.S. victory at the Ryder Cup two months ago.

Now he’s going after a trophy of his own at the Houston Open.

Scheffler pitched in from 55 feet for a birdie on the 14th hole, holed a 10-foot birdie on No. 15 and avoided mistakes down the closing stretch Saturday at Memorial Park for a 1-under-par 69 and a one-shot lead at 7-under 203 going into the final round.

Scheffler, in his third year on the PGA Tour, has a 54-hole lead for the first time. The 25-yearold former University of Texas standout was tied for the lead going into the final round at The American Express in 2020 and finished third.

“I feel like I’m playing solid golf right now,” Scheffler said. “I’m hitting a decent amount of fairways, a decent amount of greens, starting to roll the ball pretty good. There’s a few days where the putts may have not all gone in, but I always seem to be hitting them right around the cup at the appropriate speed, so they’re bound to start falling eventually.”

Kevin Tway had the lead until he chipped in the water and had to scramble for bogey on the par-4 17th, then missed a 10-foot par putt on the closing hole. He shot a 73 and was tied for second with second-round leader Martin Trainer (74), Kramer Hickok (70), Matthew Wolff (69) and Venezuela’s Jhonattan Vegas (68).

There were four players tied for seventh at 5 under, including Luke List (69), one of three Baylor School graduates in the field. Keith Mitchell (73) was tied for 22nd at 1 under and Stephan Jaeger was tied for 50th at 2 over after a 72 that included five bogeys, one birdie and an eagle on the p ar-4 17th hole.

The group two shots behind included Jason Kokrak, who had to play 25 holes Saturday because of a weather delay at the start of the week, and he was all over the place.

Kokrak was at 8 under when he returned to play the 12th hole of the second round. He played his last seven holes in 7 over and wound up nine shots out of the lead. He bounced back with seven birdies in his third round of 66 to right back in the hunt.

Wolff also was atop the leaderboard at 8 under until he took a double bogey on the 17th hole when his second shot came up short and in the water. He took a penalty drop, hit the same club to put the ball seven feet from the cup and missed the bogey putt.

“I just misjudged the wind,” Wolff said. “To this moment, I really don’t know what happened on that hole.”

Either way, he’s right in the mix in what should be a compelling finish with a dozen players within three shots of Scheffler’s lead.

That includes Trainer, who took a double bogey on the front nine and then dropped consecutive shots on the back nine. But he finished with a 10-foot par that left him only one shot behind.

Not bad for someone playing the weekend for only the second time since April.

“I’m certainly hitting it better than I have in the recent past, even today,” Trainer said. “I think I have turned a corner, and whatever happens this week happens. But I’m just excited about the future.”