SAN DIEGO — Patrick Rodgers played some of his best golf when golf’s best were starting to falter Saturday. It ended with a 4-under 68 and a one-shot lead going into a final round at Torrey Pines with Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy lagging well behind.
The only downer for Rodgers on a tough day in the sunshine was hitting a gap wedge into the water on the par-4 18th and having to scramble for bogey.
He was at 8-under 208, one shot ahead of Denny McCarty (71). Ludvig Aberg, , had a 70 and was another shot behind.
Rodgers, who matched or broke some of Tiger Woods’ records at Stanford, has never won on the PGA Tour. Now he is one round away from Woods presenting him a trophy for his first PGA Tour title. But 18 holes can feel like a marathon for someone who is 0-for-283 on the PGA Tour since he turned pro, especially on a beast like the South course at Torrey Pines.
The course did a number on Scheffler and McIlroy.
Scheffler, the world’s No. 1 player, tied Davis Thompson for the lead with a birdie on the fifth and had the easily reachable par-5 sixth ahead of him. But he hit 7-wood from a fairway bunker into the crowd and then three-putted from just inside 15 feet for bogey.
He also took two chips from thick rough near the par-5 ninth green and made bogey, took double bogey with a tee shot into the hazard on the 14th and wound up with a 76, his highest score in nearly three years.
He was five shots behind with McIlroy, whose round of 74 was more of a slow bleed until he three-putted from 12 feet on the par-3 16th.
Scheffler and McIlroy will be paired together in the final round, teeing off a lot earlier than both of them would have liked.
The first day of full sunshine allowed for some good scoring early before a strong Pacific breeze kicked in. Tony Finau three times on his way to a 67. He started the day nine shots behind and will be in the penultimate group Sunday, four shots back.
Also four back were Patrick Cantlay (68), Tommy Fleetwood (69) and Thompson, the 36-hole leader who was holding his own until a 40 on the back nine gave him a 76.
McCarthy, steady through a roller coast day for so many others, also is going for his first PGA Tour win. But far more was expected from Rodgers, who grew up in amateur golf with Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas and has watched them pile up tour wins and majors.
He has switched his thinking from playing with expectations to simply trying to perform.
“It felt like early in my career with the amateur resume that I had, I felt like there was a lot expected of myself internally,” he said. “And it was something where when immediate success, immediate wins didn’t come straight away, it was kind of fighting who I saw myself to be.
“So instead of playing with a monkey on your back that gets bigger and bigger over time when it doesn’t happen, I’m trying to play from a perspective that feels fresh and new and exciting and full of opportunity. Because that’s what this game is, and I have a great one tomorrow.”
The bogey on the 18th — his gap wedge came out softer than he imagined from the first cut and barely reached the green before rolling down the hill — was his only blemish.
His best came on the back nine, starting with a 4-iron he laced into 15 feet for birdie on the 504-yard 12th hole, and a 3-wood onto the green at the par-5 13th. Only three other players hit that green in two.
before his bogey at the end.
Aberg played alongside Rodgers and was impressed with what he saw.
“He played amazing and he was great off the tee,” Aberg said. “You can be rewarded and have a lot of good chances into the greens, but as soon as you start missing the fairways, it gets pretty difficult. It’s a great golf course, it’s a U.S. Open golf course, and it definitely played that way today.”
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