Scottie Scheffler isn’t holding back, and honestly, who can blame him? After grinding through another round at the Tour Championship, he was straight-up bewildered by the par-3 ninth hole, questioning why they even bothered to play it. This isn’t just some casual grumbling; Scheffler’s got the numbers to back up his frustration, and they shine a spotlight on why getting any kind of real separation at East Lake is proving to be a nightmare for the pros.
The Ninth Hole’s Wild Numbers Are Hard to Ignore
Forget trying to get ahead on the 270-yard par-3 ninth. Scheffler, with his degree from the McCombs School of Business at Texas, obviously knows his math, and what he found out about that hole blew his mind. Across three rounds, out of 87 players, there were only two birdies and six bogeys. You do the math, and that leaves a staggering 79 pars. Seriously, 79 pars! No wonder Scheffler just kinda shrugged and said, “That seems very high. It’s almost like let’s just skip it at this point. If we’re all going to make par, what’s the point in playing the hole, to be fair?” He’s not wrong. It’s tough to build any kind of lead when one of the holes practically forces everyone into a draw. The course layout is making it incredibly hard to pull away, keeping the leaderboard jammed tighter than a Seahawks tailgate on game day.
Hovland Fights Through, But Congestion Is the Story
While Scheffler was calling out the course, Viktor Hovland and Ryan Gerard did manage to eke out a little bit of separation at the end of the day. Hovland went wild, dropping six putts of seven feet or longer on his last six holes to card a 65, giving him a one-shot lead over Gerard, who went bogey-free for a solid 66. That’s a clutch finish, no doubt, but it doesn’t change the main vibe of the week: this scoring is bunched! We saw Cameron Young open with an even-par 70 on Thursday and find himself dead last. Now, after 54 holes, Kristoffer Reitan and Alex Smalley are sharing the basement at three-under 207. Rory McIlroy, who fired a 63 to get within five shots, echoed the sentiment, recalling how the “old golf course, before it was redone, it used to spread the field more.” He pointed out that this current layout, despite being wider, doesn’t punish misses as severely, which keeps everyone in the mix.
This East Lake setup isn’t making it easy for anyone to break away, leaving us all wondering if the final round will deliver some dramatic separation or if we’re in for a chaotic finish where anyone could make a move. Let’s see who can finally conquer these maddening holes tomorrow!
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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