HILTON HEAD ISLAND, SC — Matt Fitzpatrick had a slow start that put Scottie Scheffler back in the mix on Saturday until he hit two shots from the green on the back nine to send him to a 3-under 68 and a three-way lead at the RBC Heritage.
Scheffler, the world No. 1 who won at Harbor Town two years ago, was seven shots behind in the third round and entered contention with five in six holes.
He finished by smashing a 9-iron from 196 with the wind at his back to 10 feet for the final birdie and a 7-under 64, enough to briefly tie Fitzpatrick for the lead.
Just not for long. Fitzpatrick rolled in a 25-foot birdie putt from the green on the par-3 14th. He was right on the green with his second shot on the par-5 15th and chipped in for an eagle to restore the lead to three shots.
Fitzpatrick, winner of the 2023 RBC Heritage, closed in three pars to reach 17-under 196.
He started another warm, windy day by passing Viktor Hovland (73), just beating everyone. Fitzpatrick heads into the final round with four players within four shots of the lead, starting with the world No. 1.
“It’s good to be back in the tournament,” Scheffler said. “I was a little behind in the 8-ball going into today, but I had a good round to get myself back on track.”
So did Brian Harman, who had a slow start for the second week in a row. The former British Open champion opened with a 71 and scored his best score at Harbor Town with a 63 to leave him four behind Si Woo Kim (66) and Sepp Straka (67).
Even before Fitzpatrick closed, Scheffler was moving — two birdies from within 6 feet, two birdies from the green on the par 5s and a 15-foot birdie putt on No. 6.
“It was like I had gotten myself into contention there,” Scheffler said, noting that the last team hadn’t even started yet.
Fitzpatrick went long on the first hole and left and widened the third, both times failing to keep par. He made another bogey on the par-3 seventh, and by then most of his competitors were back in the tournament.
Scheffler, Harman and Kim each had at least one leadoff hit. Harman closed out his round by hitting a bunker shot on the par-3 17th.
“I just tried to keep the pedal down. It’s going to take a low number to win,” Harman said.
But it started to turn for Fitzpatrick when he ripped a driver on the 315-yard ninth, the ball landed in front of the bunker and bounced onto the green about 75 feet, resulting in a birdie putt-putt. Three holes later, he converted a 10-foot birdie putt and was on his way.
Scheffler and Fitzpatrick played the opening two rounds together, and the Englishman added seven shots between them for the 36-hole lead.
Scheffler, coming off a second-place finish at the Masters, figured he would need one of his best rounds to at least have a chance. He also needed a little help. His 64 was the best score of the 14 players ahead of him, and all but three of those players did no better than 68.
“Fitzpatrick goes out today and shoots a 64, that’s going to make things difficult for me,” Scheffler said. “You need a little help, but I can’t control what those guys are going to do. If somebody comes up and shoots 28 under on this golf course, sometimes you just get beat.
“So going in today I was going to do my best and see where that left me.”
