Scottie Scheffler made just two birdies and one eagle in round three of the Open, on a day when the course played about three shots easier than it had on Thursday. Good news for the field, right? Well, not exactly. Because the world number one, described as 'inevitable' by the world number two, didn't drop a single shot. Not when he was on the side of a bank beyond the 11th green, not when he was buried in the rough left of the 14th fairway. Par, par.
The end result is a four-shot lead, which is one more than he had at Quail Hollow in May when he won by five. It's one more than he had in the Masters in 2022 and won by three. Two years later, the only other time he's led a major through 54 holes, a one-shot lead became a three-shot victory parade as he won at Augusta once more.
Now, the PGA did get close, and it got close because one of the few golfers who can live with even his best produced a Sunday flourish. That day, it was Jon Rahm; for the Open Championship to revive as a contest, the rattle may have to come from Rory McIlroy. He begins the round six behind, not even in second place but surely the one player who can at least make the favourite think.
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