2026 Players Championship scores: Scottie Scheffler bounces back with strong effort in Round 3 at TPC Sawgrass

Scottie Scheffler started another Saturday out of contention in a golf tournament and ended it with another stellar score. After eking his way through the cutline at the 2026 Players Championship Friday evening, Scheffler signed for a bogey-free, 5-under 67 on Saturday to claw his way near the top 20 on the leaderboard by the time he walked off the 18th green at 4 under for the tournament.

Scheffler's 67 was the second-lowest effort among the early starters in Round 3 and improved his place on the leaderboard by more than 30 spots. The catalyst for Scheffler's performance was his play off the tee as he hit 11 out of 14 fairways after hitting only 14 fairways across his first two rounds combined.

"I was a little sharper today than I was the first two days," Scheffler said. "I felt like I was swinging it better each day of the tournament. Today hit a few more fairways and was able to give myself a few more looks for birdie."

Playing from the short grass more often than not, Scheffler was able to play from his front foot coming into the greens. Although he hit only nine greens in regulation, many of his misses were just off the green and set up relatively simple up-and-downs or even in the case of the par-3 17th, a birdie.

"The shot on 17 was really nice," Scheffler said. "That was kind of a tweener for me, where I had to ride the wind a little bit. So it was nice for that one to come out nice and straight with a tiny little draw on it. That one was pretty close to exactly what I was wanting to do."

All five of Scheffler's birdies came from inside 20 feet with his longest connection coming from 18 feet on the par-4 6th. While the circles were impressive, some of his par saves may be what he is most proud of. Scheffler saved par on the par-4 4th after hitting his tee shot in the rough and being forced to lay up short of the water with his second.

His second shot on the par-5 11th found the water and led to another scrambling par. After taking a penalty drop, Scheffler's fourth shot from 112 yards settled inside 2 feet to turn down the dial of a stressful situation.

While there are many positives from his third round, Scheffler still has room to improve. He made birdie on just one of the four par 5s moving his score to 3 under on those holes in particular for the week. For reference, 36-hole leader Ludvig Åberg played those same holes in 6-under fashion on Friday alone.

Two of his three missed fairways came on Nos. 9 and 16 (both par 5s) and handcuffed him coming into the greens as he was unable to go for either surface in two. Still, Scheffler should take Saturday's play in stride as although he may not be marching towards the winner's circle at TPC Sawgrass, he continues his march towards another big tournament contested next month.

"I think with the way I hit it the first couple days, to kind of have the attitude that I did and the fight that I did… when I look at tournaments, I'm not thinking about winning, I'm thinking about approaching things the right way," Scheffler said. "I did my best to stay committed and I did a good job I think of keeping the right attitude and keeping my head on straight in order to grind out a couple rounds that were difficult. 

"And then I shot a nice round today as well. So overall I think I've been in a good spot with how my attitude and commitment has been to my shots. So that's, for me that's a good week."