Scottie Scheffler started Saturday 12 shots back, but no one in the history of the Masters has ever come back from more than eight to win. He went out and made it interesting anyway.

The world No. 1 came into round three at even par after a Friday where he hit the ball in the water twice and finished two over. He was 25th on the leaderboard. Then he eagled the par-5 second hole, and he set up eagle with a strong approach on the par-5 second, and he didn't really stop from there.

As journalist Jamie Kennedy noted on X, “No one in the 92-year history of The Masters has come back from more than 8 shots to win. Scottie started today 12 back.”

As a two-time Masters champion, Scheffler is familiar with the course.

Birdies on 7, 8, and 9 wrapped up a front nine of 31. That's the best front nine Scheffler has ever had across seven Masters appearances.

He birdied the 11th to go six under on the day. With Rory McIlroy yet to tee off, the gap was down to six shots. Scottie Scheffler had already moved from 25th into a tie for second through 12 holes.

It wasn’t flawless either. A seven-foot birdie chance on the third slipped by, leaving something behind on a red-hot front nine.

Even so, the round changed the picture, and his track record is exactly why he’s still right there.

Scottie Scheffler's Record Makes His Saturday Surge Hard to Ignore

This is Scheffler’s seventh Masters start, and he has already won the tournament twice, in 2022 and 2024.

He came into the week as the reigning 2025 Open Championship and 2025 PGA Championship winner, along with an Olympic gold medalist from Paris.

A third green jacket would make him one of the most decorated players in Augusta history.

McIlroy still holds the biggest 36-hole lead the Masters has ever seen. But Scheffler gave himself a round to point at, and at Augusta, that always counts for something.

Do you think Scottie Scheffler can pull off the impossible and chase down McIlroy in the Masters? Let us know in the comments!

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Written by

Sneha Abraham

Edited by

Pulkit Prabhav