Scottie Scheffler continued his comeback at Riviera on Saturday, after making an extremely slow start to the Genesis Invitational earlier in the week.
Scheffler posted a round of three-over par 74 on day one of the Genesis, before following that up with a 68 on Friday and then a five-under-par 66 on Saturday.
Riviera has posed plenty of challenges for the best players on the PGA Tour this week, with the incredibly soft yet ridiculously fast greens causing all sorts of problems.
Are you concerned about Scottie Scheffler right now?
He is really struggling with his first rounds right now…
Scheffler has been struggling during his first rounds on the PGA Tour over the past three weeks.
And after shooting a second round 68 on Friday, Scheffler suggested that late afternoon tee times on Thursdays at Pebble Beach and Riviera have not helped him.
Whatever the issue is with Scheffler during his first rounds right now, there is nothing wrong with the golf he is producing from Friday to Sunday.
The world number one has found it really tough going at Riviera this week, but amazingly, he still has a chance to record a top-10 finish.
Scottie Scheffler comments on Riviera after firing third round 66
The 29-year-old played incredibly solid golf on Saturday at Riviera.
He dropped just one shot and made six birdies, along with 11 pars.
However, he will definitely feel like he left a few shots out on the golf course.
Scheffler was asked if he found Riviera ‘less weird’ on Saturday, after discussing his strange relationship with the golf course earlier this week.
“At times, yeah, maybe a little bit, but then at times it still felt weird,“ Scheffler admitted.
“No, I played solid today. The golf course is gettable in the morning, the greens are fresher. So I was able to hole a few putts, which is key.
“I don’t necessarily know what else to say.
“Yeah, I mean, if you’re going to go out early, I was glad to get a tee time this morning, get out early and see what I can do.
“Obviously I wanted to shoot a little bit lower, but overall 5-under is pretty solid.“
Scottie Scheffler found something on the greens on day three at Riviera
Scheffler has always struggled when putting on Poa annua greens, and that has been no different this week at Riviera.
That said, he showed huge improvements on the greens on Saturday, and is currently ranked second in strokes gained putting for the third round.
Who will have more majors? 🏆
Tiger or Scottie…
Scheffler gained 2.187 strokes on the field on the greens on day three of the Genesis Invitational and that’s pretty good going, considering the difficulty of the surfaces.
The greens at Riviera this week are as soft as you will ever see.
However, the incredible speed of the surfaces makes it incredibly difficult to lag 20-30 footers within tap-in range.
Scheffler will need to get his putter red-hot on Sunday if he is to record another top-10 finish. Could he actually do the unthinkable, though, and win?
While it’s highly unlikely, he’s more than capable of shooting a 61 or so, and if he manages to do just that, then who knows what could happen?