Wyndham Clark tried.
And Patrick Cantlay.
And Ludvig Aberg.
And Collin Morikawa.
And countless others.
All failed. None could catch Scottie Scheffler.
But Mother Nature will make him wait.
Pursuing his second-straight win after his Masters victory last weekend, and fourth in five tournaments, and his 39th-straight round under par, Scheffler was well on his way to all those feats during Sunday’s final round of the RBC Heritage — until the heavens opened up at about 4:30 p.m. at Harbour Town Golf Links in South Carolina and delayed play for about two-and-a-half hours. When things halted, Scheffler was on the 12th, and he completed three more holes before action was stopped again, this time due to darkness.
Now, three holes remain. Monday morning, he’ll return up five over Clark, Cantlay, Sahith Theegala and J.T. Poston — and Golf Channel will start its coverage at 8 a.m.
Before that, Scheffler built his lead, as others crumbled.
He started the RBC final round up one. After two holes, he was up three. On the 548-yard, par-5 2nd, after hitting just over the green with his second shot, he chipped in with his third, his ball dodging a greenside bunker before curling in right to left. He handed his club back to caddie Ted Scott. He grinned. He wasn’t done.
But others soon were. Clark made a move. Patrick Rodgers, too. They both pulled within a shot, then they both undid themselves. On the 442-yard, par-4 12th, Clark tried to sneak his second shot through a collection of trees — only for his ball to catch one and ricochet right and out of bounds. Double bogey. Minutes later, on the 463-yard, par-4 8th, Rodgers hit his tee shot into water left. Double bogey. Scheffler’s lead was four.
From there, only rain proved annoying to Scheffler until play stopped. When he returned, he birdied the 356-yard, par-4 13th, then ended his day with two of his finest shots, after one of his worst. On the 581-yard, par-5 15th, after his ball appeared to catch mud off the tee, he hit his second shot into the water on the left — but he followed with a short iron to 11 feet, seconds before the horn sounded again. He then elected to finish the hole, dropped the putt for par and fist-pumped.
He’ll sleep on that.
Presumably, he’ll rest easy.
The leaderboard breakdown
— Scottie Scheffler starts the final round with a one-shot lead over Sepp Straka, and a two-shot lead over Collin Morikawa, and a three-shot lead over Sahith Theegala, Patrick Rodgers and Ludvig Aberg. Scheffler is at 16-under, Straka is at 15-under, Morikawa is at 14-under, and Theegala, Rodgers and Aberg are at 13-under.
— When Scheffler tees off, the leaderboard reads this way: Scheffler is at 16-under, Straka at 15-under, Rodgers, Morikawa, J.T. Poston and Wyndham Clark at 14-under, and Aberg, Chris Kirk, Seamus Power and Patrick Cantlay at 13-under.
— Scheffler chips in for eagle on the 548-yard, par-5 2nd, and his lead grows to three. He’s at 18-under, Clark, Poston, Rodgers, Morikawa and Straka are at 15-under, and Kirk, Cantlay and Tom Hoge are at 13-under.
— Clark, behind five birdies and an eagle, shoots a front-nine 29. He then birdies the 438-yard, par-4 11th, and he pulls to within a shot of Scheffler. Scheffler is at 18-under, Clark and Rodgers are at 17-under, and Cantlay and Morikawa are at 15-under.
— Clark, on the 442-yard, par-4 12th, hits a tree with his second shot, and his ball goes out of bounds on his way to a double bogey, and Rodgers bogeys the 205-yard, par-3 7th. Meanwhile, Scheffler birdies the 560-yard, par-5 5th, and the leaderboard reads this way: Scheffler is at 19-under, Rodgers is at 16-under, and Clark and Morikawa are at 15-under.
— Rodgers double-bogeys the 463-yard, par-4 8th after hitting his tee shot into water, and Scheffler’s lead grows. Scheffler is at 19-under, Clark and Cantlay are at 15-under, and Kirk, Hoge, Poston, Rodgers, Aberg and Morikawa are at 14-under.
— Rodgers bounces back with an eagle pitch-in on the 337-yard, par-4 9th. The leaderboard reads this way: Scheffler is at 19-under, Rodgers is at 16-under, and Cantlay and Aberg are at 15-under.
— Rodgers bogeys the 12th, and Scheffler’s lead is four. He’s at 19-under, and six golfers — Kirk, Poston, Cantlay, Rodgers, Theegala and Morikawa — are at 15-under.
— At 4:28 local time, with storms in the area, the weather horn sounds. Scheffler is on the 12th hole.
— At 7 p.m., play resumes.
— Scheffler birdies the 356-yard, par-4 13th after hitting his second shot to 6 feet, and his lead is now five shots. He’s at 20-under, and Clark, Cantlay, Poston and Theegala are at 15-under.
— On the 581-yard, par-5 15th, Scheffler’s ball appears to catch mud off the tee, and he hits his second shot into the water on the left. From there, he drops and hits to 11 feet — seconds before the horn sounded again. But he elects to finish the hole, drops the putt for par and fist-pumps.
— Players will return at 8 a.m. Monday. The leaderboard reads this way: Scheffler is at 20-under, and Clark, Cantlay, Poston and Theegala are at 15-under.
