PGA Championship Round 3: Scottie Scheffler Storms the Green Mile to Grab a Three-Shot Lead

For most of moving day at Quail Hollow, the PGA Championship looked like a free-for-all. Nine players held at least a share of the lead at some point on Saturday. Then Scottie Scheffler reached the 14th tee and turned a scramble into a procession.

Scheffler played his final five holes in 5 under, shot a 6-under 65 and reached 11-under 202, three shots clear of Alex Noren. Davis Riley and J.T. Poston are tied for third at 7 under. Jon Rahm, Si Woo Kim and 36-hole leader Jhonattan Vegas share fifth at 6 under, five back. It was the lowest round of Scheffler's major career, per the PGA TOUR and AP, and it came from a player who started the day three behind.

The Five-Hole Heist

Everything changed on the drivable 14th. Scheffler hit 3-wood from 304 yards into the wind and watched it settle just inside 3 feet. The tap-in eagle got him to the top of the board.

On the par-5 15th, an up-and-down birdie gave him the lead outright for the first time all week. After a par at 16, he rolled in an 18-footer on the par-3 17th, one of only six birdies on that hole all day. On 18, he pulled an 8-iron from the seam of a divot and covered the flag, stopping it inside 10 feet. That putt dropped too.

"I executed the shot," Scheffler said of the 14th, per the PGA TOUR and AP.

The Green Mile had eaten the field alive all week. Scheffler played it in 2 under on Saturday. He also hit 13 of 14 fairways and 14 of 18 greens, per the PGA of America, which is the kind of ball-striking that makes a three-shot cushion feel bigger than it looks.

Noren Rides Shotgun

Noren's 5-under 66 was the second-best round of the day and the best story on the board not named Scheffler. The 42-year-old Swede has been dealing with a severe right hamstring injury since last fall and only returned the week before after seven months away, per the AP. He will play in the final group of a major for the first time on Sunday.

Riley built a 67 around three straight birdies at the turn and two more on 14 and 15. Poston, a North Carolina native, birdied the last for a 68 and heads into the penultimate pairing with a home-state crowd behind him.

Bryson's Green Mile Gut Punch

For a stretch, it looked like Bryson DeChambeau would be the man chasing Scheffler from the front. DeChambeau was bogey-free through 15 holes and took a brief lead with a birdie on the par-5 15th. Then the closing stretch bit. A 4-foot par putt slipped by on 16, a tee shot found the water on 17 for a double bogey, and only a scrambling par on 18 kept it from getting worse.

That 3-over finish turned a share of the lead into a 69, a 5-under total and a six-shot deficit.

"I'm behind the 8-ball now. I've got to get my guns a-blazing tomorrow," DeChambeau said.

Rahm Hungry, Leaders Fade

Rahm also touched a share of the lead at 7 under. A run of three straight birdies had the two-time major winner rolling, but a drive into the water on 15 and a three-putt on 18 knocked him back to 6 under after a 67.

"This golf course is tricky and one shot is nothing on 18 holes," Rahm said.

The overnight leader went the other way. Vegas opened with back-to-back bogeys and signed for a 2-over 73, though at 6 under, he remains firmly in the hunt. Kim posted a 71 to stay at the same number. Matthieu Pavon and Matt Fitzpatrick, both tied for second overnight, each shot 72 and dropped into a big group at 5 under with Keegan Bradley, Tony Finau and DeChambeau. Max Homa, three back to start the day, crashed with a 76.

A Late Start, Long Day

Storms rolled through Charlotte on Saturday morning and wiped out the original tee sheet. Officials sent the field off both tees in threesomes starting shortly before noon. Rory McIlroy and Xander Schauffele, originally due off at 8:25 a.m., did not hit their first shots until 1:38 p.m. Both shot 72 and are at 2 over, far from the conversation.

Sunday's Math

Scheffler arrives fresh off an eight-shot win at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson in his previous start, with two Masters titles already in hand and a third major within reach. Noren has the form and nothing to lose. Riley and Poston have the crowd. Rahm and DeChambeau have the pedigree and five or six shots to make up.

Three shots is a real lead. On this property, with the Green Mile waiting at the end, it is not a done deal, and everyone chasing knows the leader needs to give some back for them to have a chance.

Catch up on Round 1 and Round 2. For more, see the PGA TOUR's Round 3 recap (opens in a new tab) and the PGA of America's report (opens in a new tab).

Sources: PGA TOUR, PGA of America (pgachampionship.com), AP, Golf Channel. More golf coverage on Undrafted.

Photo: PGA TOUR.