SOUTHAMPTON, New York — Scottie Scheffler let out a rare roar and kept his hopes alive of completing the career Grand Slam at the U.S. Open.
Scheffler, the world’s top player for the last three years, carded a 1-under 69 for the second-best round of the day to that point at Shinnecock.
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Starting seven shots behind leader Wyndham Clark, he moved five behind with Clark still to finish his round. Scheffler is at 1 under overall going into his 30th birthday on Sunday.
Scheffler overcame bogeys on his first two holes Saturday with birdies on Nos. 14, 15 and 16 to sit tied for third with others still to finish.
On the 14th, Scheffler chipped in from 65 feet. That elicited the loudest crowd reaction of the day to that point. The normally even-keeled Scheffler even growled.
About 15 minutes later, Scheffler drained an 11-foot birdie putt on the 15th, adding an understated fist pump. That took him to 1 under and in red figures for the first time all tournament.
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He reached the green in two on the 604-yard 16th and two-putted from 13 feet. He birdied three consecutive holes at a U.S. Open for the first time.
He may rue missed putts on 17 — seven feet for par — and 18 — four feet for birdie.
Clark, who began the day with a four-shot lead at 7 under, has largely held steady, dropping one shot through 11 holes on a difficult scoring day.
Scheffler is bidding to become the seventh man to complete the career Grand Slam after Rory McIlroy, Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Ben Hogan and Gene Sarazen.
Scheffler won the Masters in 2022 and 2024, then the PGA Championship and the Open in 2025 — all with 54-hole leads.
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“The Grand Slam has never been a motivating factor for me,” he said before the tournament. “I always just wanted to be the best version of myself. That got me this far.”
A seven-shot comeback from 36 holes wouldn’t be the largest of Scheffler’s career. He rallied from nine behind at the 2022 Phoenix Open and eight at the 2022 Procore Championship and 2025 Arnold Palmer Invitational.
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