TOUR Championship 2024: 3 Instant Reactions to Saturday Leaderboard Scores

TOUR Championship 2024: 3 Instant Reactions to Saturday Leaderboard Scores0 of 3

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Scottie Scheffler will roll into the final day of the Tour Championship with a five-shot lead over second-place Collin Morikawa.

Scheffler is at 26-under (10-under starting score, 16-under for the tournament) at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, Georgia.

Morikawa has been the best this weekend, shooting 17-under for the tournament to land at 21-under on the Tour Championship leaderboard right now.

Scheffler clearly has the upper hand, but at this moment, it appears that Morikawa is his only true challenger. Everyone else in the field sits at 17-under or worse, although we’ve seen some good performances from Sahith Theegala (67-66-66 for the tournament). He currently sits solo third at 17-under.

Here’s a look at reactions to those three as the PGA Tour season inches closer to naming a champion.

Scottie Scheffler on Doorstep of First Tour Championship1 of 3

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Scheffler entered the Tour Championship with a first-place 10-under score by virtue of being first in the FedEx Cup standings. But he’s been excellent regardless in this tournament, shooting a 16-under 197 through three rounds. Without the head start, he’d still be solo second to only Collin Morikawa, who has been sensational thus year (17-under 196).

But a win here seems like like a formality. He’s entering Sunday on fire, shooting 65-66-66. His entire game is firing on all cylinders, including the short game, which has given Scheffler issues in the past. But this time around, Scheffler has gained 4.051 strokes putting through three rounds. He’s also tied for first in greens-in-regulation (41-of-54), so everything points to Scheffler coasting to victory.

And if that happens, it’ll be the closing chapter of a phenomenal year that has already included six PGA Tour victories (including his second Masters) and his first-ever Olympic gold medal

Collin Morikawa With a Fighting Chance2 of 3

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It certainly isn’t likely that the world’s No. 1 golfer blows a five-stroke lead, but Morikawa is a sensational player who could, at the least, make Scheffler sweat a little bit.

Morikawa has posted the single-best round in this tournament, shooting an eight-under 63 on Friday. He shot a 66 on Thursday and 67 on Saturday, so he’s been quite consistent as he dominates East Lake.

He’s always been fantastic with his irons, but Morikawa has turned it up yet another notch this week.

The two-time major champion is first in strokes gained off-the-tee, second in strokes gained on approach and first in strokes gained around-the-green.

But Morikawa needs his putter to get hot. The flat stick hasn’t totally cooperated, as he’s tied for ninth in the 30-man field in strokes gained putting. If the putts start to fall, then a Scheffler win may not be a formality.

Sahith Theegala Capping a Great Season3 of 3

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Theegala is undoubtedly a rising star. He entered this weekend with nine top-12 finishes this year, including second-place results at the Sentry and the RBC Heritage. Other notable results include the Scottish Open (T4) and the Phoenix Open (solo fifth).

The 26-year-old looks like he’ll be haunting the top of leaderboards for years to come. Although he only has one PGA Tour win on record (the Fortinet Championship in Sept. 2023), that figures to change soon enough.

It doesn’t look like that victory is happening this weekend, but a second-place finish isn’t out of the question. Theegala has brought his A-game this week, shooting 67-66-66.

His performance Saturday is most noteworthy. Theegala shot one-over through 10 holes but caught fire down the stretch with birdies on seven of the final eight holes, including the last five.

Perhaps that momentum carries over into Sunday and Theegala continues his excellent form. Regardless, Theegala has certainly been impressive this week, and it won’t be a surprise to see him enjoy even greater success in 2025.