Scottie Scheffler on the brink of PGA Tour history as he shares five-way tie for the lead at Houston Open in pursuit of third STRAIGHT title win – with World No 1 looking ominous with The Masters on the horizon

World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler is one of five players tied for the lead after the third round of the Texas Children’s Houston Open on Saturday.

Scheffler shot a 4-under par 66 at Memorial Park Golf Course and 9-under 201 entering Sunday’s final round.

He is joined at the top of the leaderboard by Englishman David Skinns, who shot a bogey-free 65 on his debut at the event, German Stephan Jaeger (66), Argentinian Alejandro Tosti (68) and Belgian Thomas Detry (67).

Reigning champion Tony Finau, who led after two rounds, shot a 2-over 72 on Saturday to finish tied for ninth at 7 under.

He tied the tournament scoring record for the second time on Friday with an 8-under 62.

Scheffler is one of five at the top of the Texas leaderboard at nine under par

Scheffler carded eight birdies in an adventurous round, marred by two bogeys and a double bogey on the par-3 15th hole when his tee shot went into the water and he took a penalty stroke.

Still, Scheffler’s 66 was the FedExCup leader’s 31st straight round at par or better, dating back to an even-par 70 in the final round of the 2023 Tour Championship.

Scheffler, the world’s No. 1 player, is coming off wins at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and The Players Championship. The last player to achieve such a feat was LIV’s Dustin Johnson in 2017.

“Winning the last two won’t help me tomorrow,” Scheffler said.

‘I think it will be quite a challenging day again with strong winds. Stick to my process and decide what I can control outside of it.”

Five co-leads after 54 holes is the most in a PGA Tour event since six players shared the lead after the third round of the 2009 Texas Children’s Houston Open (Paul Casey, Fred Couples, Colt Knost, Ryan Moore, Geoff Ogilvy, Bo Van Pelt).