Scottie Scheffler's hopes for another British Open are hurt by a lack of birdies

SOUTHPORT, England — Scottie Scheffler rapped an 8-foot birdie putt on the 17th hole and gave a fist pump, which about summed up a third straight day for the defending British Open champion.

It was a mock fist pump. He missed another one.

That’s been the story all week for Scheffler, the No. 1 player in the world on the verge of getting shut out of the majors. He has made only one bogey over the last 37 holes but could manage only three birdies during that span. He shot 70 on Saturday and was six shots behind.

Asked what he needed to do, Scheffler replied, “Just make more birdies.”

“I feel like I’m hitting the ball the way I need to in order to score,” he said. “That part is frustrating, but knowing my game is in a good spot is a good feeling as well. There’s been times this year where I feel like I was getting a lot out of my game. This week feels I’m playing a lot better than my score.

“A little bit frustrating, but if I continue to do this and hole some putts tomorrow, I could shoot a really low round and move my way up the leaderboard.”

Scheffler won his first tournament of the season at The American Express, and it was looking like a third sequel to the previous two years. But that remains his only victory, and last week he ended his cut streak at 78 tournaments when he missed the cut in the Scottish Open.

“All I can do is continue to try and execute and give myself opportunities, which I did another good job of today,” he said.

The Scheffler effect

Two players atop the leaderboard spent a lot of time with the No. 1 player in the world.

Sam Burns, the 54-hole leader, has been a close friend of Scottie Scheffler since they competed against each other in college. They are frequent practice round partners. Burns said it has taught him to throttle back when necessary if he's being too aggressive.

“It helped that I got to play a lot of golf with the best player on the planet and watch what he does,” Burns said. “He makes so few mistakes, and he doesn’t take on unnecessary risks very often, if ever, and seems to always hit the correct shot in the moment.”

Si Woo Kim is tied for second and is part of Scheffler’s money games at home in Dallas. Scheffler even helped the 31-year-old from South Korea get a membership at Royal Oaks.

Kim said earlier this year the matches have been one-sided. He said of Scheffler, “He calls me ATM.”

“I could lose my money, but I want to watch his shot and learn,” Kim said. “I ask questions. He always give me his opinion, so it helps me a lot.”

Herbert's gamble pays off

Lucas Herbert's British Open challenge was already going off the rails thanks to back-to-back bogeys when he was forced to take an unplayable penalty at the par-5 17th after hitting his tee shot way left and into a dune.

The Australian stood over his third shot thinking: “This is either going to be unbelievable or this could be the end of my tournament.”

With one slash of a 3-iron, Herbert stayed in contention. His blind shot of some 238 yards somehow found its way onto the green — nearly hitting the flagstick — and he two-putted for par, eventually signing for a 71.

“I think that slots into the top 10 of shots that I’ve hit,” he said.

Herbert, who tied the scoring record of a major with a 62 on Friday, started the third round with a two-shot lead. He finished it three back from Sam Burns.

Fox is in the money

Ryan Fox felt pretty smug after his third round at the British Open — and it wasn't just because he'd tied the lowest score at a major championship.

After going out early and becoming the latest player to shoot 62 at Royal Birkdale, Fox said he'd spend the rest of the day watching some golf but also taking in a replay of a rugby international between his native New Zealand and Ireland.

Seems Fox and Shane Lowry, an Irishman, had had a wager on it. With New Zealand winning 40-21, Fox had come out of it richer.

“I watched a decent chunk of that this morning and I was pretty happy with that result, too,” Fox said.

“I just saw Shane on the screen, and I’m looking forward to taking 100 quid (pounds) off him, the little bet we had.”

What's in a name

Ryan Gerard has a real chance of winning the British Open at the first attempt, and the No. 28-ranked American — who is just three shots off the lead — is getting plenty of support from the locals along the way.

That's because his name bears a similarity to one of the great soccer players to come from these parts in recent decades — the former Liverpool and England midfielder Steven Gerrard.

Liverpudlians in the galleries were heard chanting songs they once reserved for Gerrard — but simply replacing Steven with Ryan.

“There’s quite a few songs — I think some of them I can’t repeat. The lads were out in full force today,” the 26-year-old Gerard said.

“It’s kind of funny,” he added. “It’s not even spelled the same, but I’ll take it. I’ll take any support that we can from across-the-pond folks.”

Gerard said it was “like a Tony Romo situation” — a nod to the former Dallas Cowboys quarterback who, after retirement, has worked on his game and has tried (unsuccessfully) U.S. Open qualifying.

Gerard has had rounds of 67-67-69 and is tied for fourth place.