Sepp Straka fired an 8-under 64 to take a one-shot lead heading into the final round of the Hero World Challenge. The Austrian capitalized on the par 5s with three birdies and two eagles, including a chip-in at the sixth hole that helped him reach 18-under 198 for the tournament.
Scottie Scheffler, seeking his third straight win at Albany Golf Club, looked unstoppable early with five consecutive 3s to start his round. He was 9 under through 15 holes before stumbling down the stretch for the third straight day. After bogey-par-bogey finish, he posted a 65 and sits one back of Straka.
“He definitely got it going quick,” Straka said of the world’s No. 1 player. “It didn’t look like he was going to miss a putt there for a little bit. But it’s golf, it usually evens out a lot and I just tried to focus on my own game.”
Straka’s eagle on the par-5 sixth hole came from a perfectly executed chip-in. He later drained an 18-foot eagle putt on the downwind par-5 15th and added another birdie on the par-5 ninth after a perfectly placed 3-wood set up a two-putt from 15 feet. His only par-4 birdie came at the seventh, where he attacked a dangerous back-left pin and converted from 7 feet.
What’s impressive is how Straka managed the round. He trailed Scheffler by three shots through five holes and by two with four holes remaining, but played bogey-free golf while his competitor faltered late.
Scheffler’s late-round struggles continued a pattern for the week. Thursday saw a double bogey at 16, Friday featured a bogey there, and Saturday brought another dropped shot at the same hole despite finding the fairway.
“A few unfortunate breaks, but overall did some really good stuff,” Scheffler said after his round.
The world number one also bogeyed the closing hole after missing the green right and facing a difficult pitch up the slope. Despite the late mistakes, he’ll join Straka in Sunday’s final pairing.
Alex Noren (67) and Hideki Matsuyama (68) sit three shots off the lead, while J.J. Spaun and Wyndham Clark posted matching 69s to stay within four of Straka’s pace.
