A difficult return to “normal” is pushing Scheffler down the PGA Championship leaderboard

Scottie Scheffler arrived at the golf course just in time. Once he got there, nothing seemed right.

The day after he overcame an odyssey to prison and then returned to the golf course just in time to get to the first tee, Scheffler was enjoying a more regular schedule but had trouble staying organized during the PGA Championship.

He shot a 2-for-73 in Saturday’s third round to finish the tournament at 7-under and drop from fourth place to 24th, with the leaders still on course. It snapped a streak of 42 straight rounds at or better for the world’s best player, dating back to Saturday at the Tour Championship last year.

Although he said his arrest and trip to his cell the day before had left his heart pounding and his head spinning, it didn’t show on the course or on the scoreboard. he shot a 66 in Round 2. A day later, he was still coming to terms with the stunning events of the previous 36 hours.

“I definitely didn’t feel like myself today,” he said. “It happened yesterday. I did everything I could to recover from that and go out and compete. This morning was not my usual routine. At the end of the day I left hoping to have a good round, but I didn’t, which was frustrating.

He started losing ground even before he entered the course.

Justin Rose and Shane Lowry led the way, shooting 64 and 62 in the group over an hour ahead of Scheffler.

But this wasn’t a day to feel sorry for the reigning Masters champion.

He made two bogeys and a double in the first four holes, finished on the top nine in the 38th round and shot his worst round of the season. Even though he struggled, he still felt love. Chants of “Scottie, Scottie, Scottie” echoed throughout the course, never louder than when he made a short birdie putt on 18 to end the day.

Before that, it had been a nasty mix of missed tee shots, poor shots in tight situations and some struggles with the putter, which more or less passed in a season in which he won four times.

“I fought as hard as I could all day, but every time I made a birdie, I made a bogey on the next hole,” he said. “Definitely too many mistakes today. Obviously I’m quite frustrated with the result.”

His struggles began in the second par 4 when his approach shot landed deep in the rough left of the green. It took him two shots to get to the putt and he made double bogey.

On No. 4, his tee shot landed left of the infield fence, left of the green. After the fall, Scheffler discarded another chip. To save a bogey, he made a putt from 10 feet.

He then made two birdies, but three putts from 30 feet on the par-3 eighth and putt the second from 3 feet, which required a 270-degree turn and stayed outside.

Scheffler’s 73 was better than just five players on a 78-man roster.

One possible reinforcement for Sunday will be the return of his caddy, Ted Scott. Scott left town to attend his daughter’s high school reunion, leaving duties to Scheffler’s friend, trip chaplain Brad Payne.

Scott is scheduled to return for the final round, which will start much earlier than Scheffler might have expected, after a week in which little went according to plan.

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Golf AP: