Is Scottie Scheffler on the Brink of His First PGA Tour Title in 2025 with an 8-Shot Lead at CJ Cup Byron Nelson?

Synopsis
Key Takeaways
- Scheffler's Lead: He holds an impressive eight-shot lead going into the final round.
- Third Round Performance: Scottie achieved a five-under-par 66.
- Home Turf: TPC Craig Ranch is essentially his hometown event.
- Historical Context: The last player with an eight-shot lead after 54 holes was Rory McIlroy in 2011.
- Potential Win: A victory would mark his first official win since September 2023.
Texas, May 4 (NationPress) Scottie Scheffler is poised to enter the final round at TPC Craig Ranch with an impressive eight-shot advantage. The American golfer registered a five-under-par 66 during his third round, bringing his total to 23-under 190 after three rounds in essentially his hometown event, where he secured his first Tour victory in 2014.
The last player to hold an eight-shot lead on the PGA TOUR after 54 holes was Rory McIlroy at the 2011 U.S. Open.
Scheffler, aiming for his first win of 2025, started his third round at 2 under after three holes but encountered a setback with a bogey on the par-3 4th – marking his first of the week. He rebounded with a birdie on the par-5 9th before bogeying the par-4 11th.
On the short par-4 14th, he drove the green, leaving his tee shot just 13 feet away for another birdie. He also notched birdies on Nos. 15 and 18, finishing with a score of 5-under 66, according to reports from the PGA Tour.
“I wasn’t as sharp as I was the last two days, but overall I posted a pretty good score. Over a 72-hole tournament, you're going to have days, or typically at least one day, where your swing's not firing on all cylinders like it was the first two days. It's all about how you battle through that,” Scheffler commented.
If Scheffler manages to clinch the win, it would mark his first official victory since the Tour Championship last September (he also won the Hero World Challenge in December). This season, he has recorded five top-10 finishes, with his best result being a T2 at the Texas Children’s Houston Open.
The largest margin of victory in Scheffler’s career stands at five shots, achieved twice – at both the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard and THE Players Championship in 2023.
The third round experienced delays as the second round was pushed to Saturday morning due to a weather interruption lasting over six hours on Friday.
--IANs
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