Longhorns-Ex Scottie Scheffler 3 Shots Back Entering Final Round of U.S. Open

Scottie Scheffler, who has never won a major championship, goes into Sunday's final round with a chance to win the U.S. Open

Former Texas Longhorns golfer Scottie Scheffler is currently tied for sixth place after three rounds of the U.S. Open. This now puts him squarely in contention for his first major championship on Sunday.

Scheffler shot a 1-under 70 to improve to 2-under for the event, which is at Torrey Pines Golf Club in San Diego.

Canadian Mackenzie Hughes, South African Louis Oosthuizen, and American Russell Henley are all currently tied for the 54-hole lead at 5-under.

Meanwhile, former U.S. Open champion Jordan Spieth had a sub-70 round for the second straight day, and Dylan Frittelli continues his consistent play, even though he’s not in contention.

Scheffler started the day at even par for the tournament, and after a bogey on the first hole, he fell back to 1-over. But, for the rest of the front nine, he was steady. He nailed a birdie at No. 4 to get back to even par, and then with a birdie on No. 9, he moved to 1-under for the event, which at the time was four shots off the lead.

But, at the turn, Scheffler gave back one of those birdies with a bogey on No. 10, moving him back to even par. After a bogey on No. 12, Scheffler wrapped up his round with birdies on No. 13 and No. 17 to put himself squarely in contention.

Scheffler is tied at 2-under with Jon Rahm and Matthew Wolfe, the latter of which was the runner-up in the 2020 U.S. Open. In front of that trio, at 3-under and two shots back of the lead, are Rory McIlroy, another former U.S. Open champion, and defending U.S. Open champion Bryson DeChambeau.

The best finish for Scheffler in a major is a tie for fourth place in the 2020 PGA Championship.

Spieth had his best round of the week to this point, firing a 3-under 68 to move him to 1-over entering the final round. The 2015 U.S. Open champion was a 3-under 32 on the front nine, which included four birdies and a bogey. Then, on the back nine, gave a couple of those shots back, but followed those bogeys with birdies on the final two holes of the course.

Dylan Frittelli shot a 1-over 72 to finish at 4-over for the tournament. Frittelli had an even-par front nine, with one birdie and one bogey. Then, on the back nine, he had three bogeys and two birdies, with a bogey on No. 17 and a birdie on No. 18 to finish off the round.

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You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.