2023 WM Phoenix Open leaderboard: Scottie Scheffler leads Jon Rahm, Nick Taylor by two shots after Round 3

Scheffler, the defending champion at Scottsdale, is 13 under heading into the final round

A rowdy Saturday at the 2023 WM Phoenix Open that began with fans running through the gates at 6:41 a.m. MT ended with world No. 2 Scottie Scheffler alone atop the leaderboard. Entering the third round with a share of the lead, the defending champion signed for a ho-hum 3-under 68 to reach 13 under and grab a two-stroke lead over Nick Taylor and Jon Rahm.

Kick-starting his day with a 40-foot birdie on No. 2, Scheffler quickly added another two holes later before hitting a snag in the middle portion of his round. Unable to convert numerous birdie opportunities from close range, the Texan held steady even in the face of adversity when his tee shot found a cactus on the par-5 13th.

Bogey followed and just like that Scheffler had been caught by a charging Xander Schauffele. Scheffler bounced back on the 14th -- the most difficult hole on the golf course -- and jumped another hurdle when Adam Hadwin and Rahm sent the fans on the par-3 16th into a frenzy. However, as he has done over the past year, Scheffler remained stone faced. Adding a birdie on the drivable par-4 17th, Scheffler saw his lead balloon to two strokes by the time the round was finished.

Scheffler will aim to successfully defend his first PGA Tour crown on Sunday, but will not be without a number of the games' best on his heels. In addition to Rahm and Taylor at 11 under, Jordan Spieth (-10), Tyrrell Hatton (-9), Sungjae Im (-9), Rickie Fowler (-9), Jason Day (-9) and Schauffele (-9) will give Scheffler chase.

The leader

1. Scottie Scheffler (-13)

It wasn't pretty at times as Scheffler struggled off the tee hitting only seven fairways in his third round. His approach play picked up the slack but with desert and cacti lurking, he will need to clean this up in the final round especially when facing a driver of Rahm's caliber. 

Still, despite this inability to consistently find the short grass, a round of 3 under almost felt like a letdown. He was narrowly positive on the greens Saturday, and had the putter cooperated as it did in this tournament last season, Scheffler's lead of two could easily have been four or five.

Other contenders

T2. Nick Taylor, Jon Rahm (-11)

T4. Jordan Spieth, Adam Hadwin (-10)

T6. Tyrrell Hatton, Sungjae Im, Rickie Fowler, Jason Day, Xander Schauffele (-9)

T11. Charley Hoffman, Sam Burns, Tony Finau, Jhonattan Vegas, Wyndham Clark (-8)

The PGA Tour could not have hand picked a better week to debut its newly designated events. With the 2023 WM Phoenix Open being the first full-field version of these tournaments, the biggest names in the game have risen to the top of the leaderboard. From Rahm attempting to become world No. 1 to Fowler trying to claim his first victory in exactly four years, the golf, theatrics and everything in between has been nothing short of phenomenal.

"This place can't be duplicated," said Fowler, the 2019 champion. "You can try, but the amount of time and effort that's gone into this over decades to get it to where it is now. Places try and do some stuff to get the energy up and get some stands and crowds around a certain hole or area. Yeah, this event's kind of special in its own way. I don't think anything will ever be what this is."

Par-5 scoring may be deciding factor on Sunday

Something to keep an eye on in the final round are the three par 5s. Players must take advantage of these scoring opportunities as the rest of the golf course is proving to be difficult with the conditions firming up and the winds whipping around. Below you can find the par-5 scoring of those inside the top five.

• Rahm: -8
• Spieth: -6
• Taylor: -5
• Hadwin: -3
• Scheffler: E

Tom Kim provides our first mic'd up birdie of 2023

For the third time this season, a player joined the CBS broadcast while on the golf course. This time it was 20-year-old Kim while he was playing the accessible par-5 13th. Discussing his approach shot with his caddie, Joe Skovron, viewers were able to get a peek behind the curtain of the caddie-player relationship. Skovron talked Kim off a club and as a result he hit his second to five feet – the closest all day – before tapping in for birdie.

2023 WM Phoenix Open updated odds and picks

Odds via Caesars Sportsbook

• Scottie Scheffler: 1/1
• Jon Rahm: 14/5
• Jordan Spieth: 14-1
• Nick Taylor: 16-1
• Xander Schauffele: 18-1
• Adam Hadwin: 25-1
• Sungjae Im: 25-1
• Rickie Fowler: 28-1
• Jason Day: 35-1
• Tyrrell Hatton: 35-1
• Tony Finau: 40-1

Even money for Scheffler to convert a 54-hole lead seems like easy money, but let us not forget the last two instances he was in this position. At both the 2022 Tour Championship and Charles Schwab Challenge, the world No. 2 was in control until he wasn't. While I do believe he will ultimately win this tournament, I do not mind a play on someone like Im at 25-1. 

The top par-5 scorer in this field over the last six months, the South Korean ranks fifth in strokes gained tee to green this week thanks to strong efforts from his iron and around-the-green play. Typically a strong driver and putter of the golf ball, if those aspects revert to historical norms on Sunday, he could make a serious run.

[Feb 11, 2023 at 7:30 pm ET · Patrick McDonald]

Scenes on 16

After Adam Hadwin nearly made a hole-in-one, Jon Rahm connected from 30 feet for birdie. Beers were flying. Showers were taken. Rahm is only one stroke behind Scheffler now.

[Feb 11, 2023 at 7:15 pm ET · Patrick McDonald]

Fowler, Im get in at 9 under

The final group has gotten tripped up on the par-5 15th and allowed many players to remain in contention. Two of those players are Sungjae Im and Rickie Fowler who are both in search of their first victory in quite some time. Scheffler is at 12 under with three holes to play as the lead has ballooned to two with Xander Schauffele carding a pair of bogeys.

[Feb 11, 2023 at 6:51 pm ET · Patrick McDonald]

Scheffler bounces back; Rahm charging

After making bogey on the par-5 13th, Scottie Scheffler made birdie on the par-4 14th, the most difficult hole on the course. Now at 12 under, he has reclaimed his lead, but there are many charging including Jon Rahm. The world No. 3 has picked up two straight birdies to get to 10 under.

[Feb 11, 2023 at 6:26 pm ET · Patrick McDonald]

Big sequence on the par-5 13th

Xander Schauffele used the rules to his advantage to get free relief. Making birdie, he has reached 11 under and may be in a share of the lead momentarily as Scottie Scheffler had to take an unplayable and will need to get up-and-down for par from 40 yards.

[Feb 11, 2023 at 5:54 pm ET · Patrick McDonald]

Scheffler's lead cut to two

Both Xander Schauffele and Adam Hadwin have reached 10 under with a pair of birdies on the difficult par-4 11th. With this movement, Scottie Scheffler's lead has been trimmed to two as the first page of the leaderboard has remained relatively stagnant for most of this third round.