PINEHURST, N.C. — Scottie Scheffler didn’t expect 5-over par through two days at the U.S. Open would be enough to play the weekend.
Yet the world’s top-ranked player was back on Saturday. And the reward? Another chance to tussle with Pinehurst No. 2′s tricky, domed greens, which continued to befuddle him during a 1-over 71 in the third round that left him 6 over for the championship.
“I’m having a lot of trouble reading these greens,” Scheffler admitted. “I had a lot of putts today where I felt like I hit it really good, I looked up and they were not going the way that I thought they were going to go.”
Scheffler, who shot 71 on Thursday and 74 on Friday, finished with two birdies and three bogeys Saturday. Going back to his 2-over 74 in the final round of his win at the Memorial last week, Scheffler has played four consecutive rounds over par for the first time as a pro, according to the PGA Tour.
Scheffler said he’s hit the ball well the last 27 holes but found the sandy native areas “way too much” early on.
“I think you have a pretty good understanding of where you’re trying to hit the ball,” he said. “It’s when you start not hitting the ball in the places where you should hit the ball, that’s when things get tricky.”
There was one particularly frustrating stretch on the back nine Saturday, shortly after his birdie at the 11th. Over the next three holes, Scheffler barely missed good looks at birdies, including one at the 14th that he thought would break left at the hole.
Scheffler again missed a par putt at the 15th, throwing his left hand up in exasperation as the ball again rolled inches left of the cup. He stepped back to take a look, then threw up both hands before finishing the hole.
