PGA Tour Championship: 10 winners and losers on Moving Day, including Scottie Scheffler

Scottie Scheffler just continues to hold on to the lead, shooting 5-under 66. Despite an opening bogey on Saturday, Scheffler shot 6-under par the rest of the way. He now has a five-stroke lead going into the final round. Scheffler finished strong with three straight birdies and four in the final five holes. He is 18 holes away from possibly having one of the best seasons in PGA Tour history. Scheffler has six wins, a green jacket and an Olympic Gold medal this year and could have his first FedEx Cup title tomorrow.

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Collin Morikawa did his best to keep up with Scheffler, firing a 4-under 67. Morikawa’s only birdie came sandwich in between two birdies at the par-4 seventh. Like Scheffler, Morikawa finished strong as well, making three birdies over his final four holes. Morikawa will look to put together a comeback FedEx Cup win like Rory McIlroy did a couple of years ago trailing by six to win against Scheffler.

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If Thursday’s struggle were a low, Saturday was worse for Xander Schauffele. Everything did not go Schauffele’s way. He was negative in all four strokes and gained statistics (off the tee, approach, around the green and putting). Schauffele just hit 6-of-14 fairways and 10-of-18 greens in regulation. As a result, he had to scramble eight times. Schauffele made bogeys on the opening hole and the par-4 fourth to set him back from the start. He was able to make birdie on the par-4 fifth and the par-3 15^th to salvage his round.

Viktor Hovland did what Schauffele did yesterday, bouncing back. After a 1-under 71, Friday, Hovland shot a 6-under 65. He was bogey-free 4-under through his first 12 holes before his only bogey Saturday on the par-4 13^th. However, he responded with back-to-back birdies, including making a 17-foot putt on the par-3 15^th. Hovland took advantage on the other par-5 of the back nine, the 18^th to put the cherry on top of a solid round. He ranked third in strokes gained and fifth in strokes gained approach to fuel his round.

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After a great second round with a 5-under 66, Tony Finau struggled in Saturday’s third round with a 3-over 74. Finau did not get off to a good start either with a double bogey on the opening hole. He then bogeyed the par-4 seventh before another bogey on the 12^th. That came before his only birdie on the day on the 14^th. Finau was also last in both strokes gained around the green and strokes gained putting.

Sahith Theegala had a strong back nine Saturday to move into third place heading into Sunday’s final round. Theegala shot 5-under 66, which included making seven birdies over his final eight holes and five straight to finish. He was given a two-stroke penalty for grounding his club in the bunker on the par-3 fourth. Theegala was fourth on the day with 1.990 strokes gained putting and second in greens in regulations.  

Aaron Rai shot 5-under 66 Thursday but has fallen since. He shot 1-under 70 yesterday and recorded 1-over 72. He fell back to 5-under par for the tournament and tied for 22nd entering the final round. It was only a five-hole stretch that prevented Rai from having a good round. He bogeyed No. 3 and 4 before a double bogey on the par-4 fifth. Although he recorded a birdie on the par-5 sixth, he gave that stroke immediately back with a bogey on the par-4 seventh. He was able to make three birdies over his final four holes to salvage his round heading into Sunday.

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Shane Lowry joined Hovland by shooting 6-under 65 for the best round on Saturday. Like Hovland, Lowry made one bogey, which came on the par-4 12^th. Outside of that, Lowry made seven birdies, including three straight from holes No. 13-15. Lowry made four birdies on the opening 11 holes before his lone blemish, as he went back-to-back on the par-5 sixth and the par-4 seventh.

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It had been a couple of good days for Tom Hoge before Saturday. He was 5-under par through the first 36 holes. However, he gave all five of those strokes back Saturday, with a 5-over 76 with no birdies. Hoge bogeyed the opening hole before recording a double bogey on the par-4 fifth as a result of not getting his approach on the green in regulation. Ten straight pars came before finishing his final three holes with two bogeys. Hoge went into the water on the final hole as a result of not hitting the fairway off the tee. He was last in the field with -4.491 strokes gained approach.

Russell Henley also had a solid, bounce-back performance in the third round. After an even par 71 Friday, he recorded his second 4-under 67 of the week. Henley recorded three birdies over his final five holes, including back-to-back on the par-4 16^th and the par-4 17^th. He was able to get his approach to about 11 feet on both holes to set up both birdies. Henley was fifth in both strokes gained putting and strokes gained around the green to fuel his round.

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