Scottie Scheffler struggled to a third-round 72 at The Open to fall to four over for the tournament; former Masters champion will miss out on a major victory in 2023; watch the final round from Royal Liverpool live on Sunday at 8am on Sky Sports Golf
Saturday 22 July 2023 14:26, UK
Scottie Scheffler joked that even a hurricane wouldn’t be enough for victory at The 151st Open after sliding down the leaderboard with another disappointing display at Royal Liverpool.
The world No 1 arrived as one of the pre-tournament favourites after a staggering run of five consecutive top-five finishes, including a share of third last week at the Genesis Scottish Open, only to struggle at the final men's major of the year.
Scheffler followed an opening-round 70 with a four-over 75 on Friday, where he made four bogeys in a six-hole stretch and needed a fortunate final-hole birdie just to make the cut, with the former Masters champion unconvincing again on Saturday morning during a one-over 72.
The American birdied two of his final three holes to move to four over, but that still left him 14 strokes behind halfway clubhouse leader Brian Harman, with Scheffler's record of finishing no worse than 12th in any event since October now under threat.
When asked whether he could still challenge for a second major title, Scheffler said: "Win? Not unless a hurricane happens this afternoon! A hurricane and then some I think is what it's going to take for me.
"I'm just going to go out tomorrow and do my best and move my way up the leaderboard and try and have a good day. I obviously wish I would have played significantly better today, but fought back a little bit at the end."
The best performances from the early starters came from likely Ryder Cup teammates Patrick Cantlay and Rickie Fowler, who both posted bogey-free 67s to get back under par for the tournament.
Fowler recently pulled out of joining Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas in a proposed investment of Leeds United via the 49ers group, with the 2014 runner-up receiving a small amount of criticism by the Hoylake crowd for not being involved in the deal.
"Other than maybe a 'coward' comment here or there, 99.9 per cent [of fans] are amazing," Fowler said about the English crowds. "But you deal with that anywhere you go. Same thing in the States.
"The fans over here, it's always fun to come play links golf in front of them. I feel like they have such a great appreciation of golf, proper golf shots and playing golf in conditions and knowing even just a ball getting on the green is a great shot from wherever it may be."
On the reasons for not getting involved with Leeds, Fowler added: "Hopefully it all works out with JT [Justin Thomas] and Jordan [Spieth] being involved.
"My financial team just didn't necessarily advise for it, so we decided to not go forward with it. I hope they play well and kind of get things turned around, because I know JT and Jordan would be very happy with that."
Watch The 151st Open throughout the week exclusively live on Sky Sports. Live coverage continues on Sunday from 8am on Sky Sports Golf. Stream The Open and more with NOW for £21 a month.
