‘Don’t Expect Him to Lose’: Harsh Scottie Scheffler Reality Haunts PGA Tour Pro Amid Close Duel for $4M Title

Scottie Scheffler or Adam Hadwin? Who are you rooting for this Sunday? With the conclusion of the third round of the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield, Haldwin has maintained the number two spot by scoring at par in the third round. The Canadian golfer performed astonishingly well in the first round, where he shot 66 and was ahead of Scottie Scheffler.

Hadwin and Scheffler have swapped spots, as, after the third round, Scheffler was at the top while Hadwin was at T2 in the $20 million tournament, where the winner will take home a whopping $4 million. The duel between the two is going well, as Hadwin was just four strokes behind the #1 golfer as of R3. Although Adam Hadwin is himself performing well, in the post-round interview, he didn’t back away from praising Scheffler’s game and him being the number one for the last 79 weeks.

Reflecting on his great record and performance in this year’s Memorial Championship, the winner of which will bag a whopping $4 million, Adam Hadwin said, “Yeah, I mean, he’s as solid as they come.” On being asked, “You’re only down four, but yet you just said you’re not sure. What’s it like to be chasing Scottie Scheffler the way he’s playing right now?”

The golfer then continued holding Scheffler highly as he said, “One player in the world for a reason. He’s far and above the No. 1 player in the world, I believe, especially after watching today. Obviously, a couple holes there where some things didn’t go his way, but the way he started and the way — like, the sound that he hits it with and the ball flight and the shape of the shots.” Though Scheffler has been manifesting an annihilating performance at the greens, Hadwin has also been pretty marvelous until now.

Hadwin seemed to know that the two-time Masters winner would not go down without a fight, especially with the kind of run he had had this season. Keeping this in mind, the Canadian pro said, “I don’t expect him to lose this golf tournament, so one of us is going to have to make a run tomorrow.” Hadwin seems to be looking to give a hard time to his mighty opponent in the last round, even if he fails to win.

Hadwin managed to score at par in the third round. Thanks to his eagle at par 5–5th! Although his stunning eagle was neutralized by the double bogey on par 4–14,  On being asked about his strategy for facing Scheffler on Sunday, Hadwin emphasized his non-aggressive attitude in the first-round performance and said, “That’s what I’m going to have to do tomorrow, just keep staying patient, keep hitting a ton of greens, giving myself looks, and really trying to make the round as easy as possible.”

Were the second and third rounds a setback for Hadwin?

In the first round of the tournament, Hadwin did a pretty good job, scoring a 6 under 66 that included 8 birdies and just 2 bogeys. Only in this round was he able to score under par at Muirfield in 2024. On praising his first right performance, he said, “I did great job early. I hit some really good shots early.” 

After the third round, Hadwin was asked about his unfortunate double bogey and his equipment choice. To which he replied, “I considered hybrid, actually. I really did. I just thought I would have to play too much break. I wanted to take some of the break out. I hit the shot. It was just the wrong club selection. I should have gone down to a sand wedge instead of a gap wedge, just skipped a little too hard.”

Do you think Adam Hadwin will succeed in giving a hard time to Scottie Scheffler? Or will the World #1 add one more trophy to his cabinet?