Sure, Ben Griffin beat Scottie Scheffler last week. But can he do it again, this time at Jack’s Place?

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DUBLIN, Ohio — A showdown between two men who have combined to win three of the last four individual titles on the PGA Tour looms for the final round of the Memorial Tournament.

If Sunday unfolds with half the entertainment value of Saturday’s third round, it should be quite a show. Then again, it probably depends on how charitable Scottie Scheffler is feeling as to how much drama is possible.

Winner of two of his last three starts, including the PGA Championship, Scheffler made up seven shots on Ben Griffin over the closing nine holes at wind-swept Muirfield Village Golf Club to seize a one-stroke lead after 54 holes. Birdies on four of the last five holes completed a bogey-free 68 for the World No. 1, who posted eight-under 208 in his quest to join Tiger Woods as the only men to win back-to-back titles at Jack Nicklaus’ $20 million signature event.

Griffin, like Scheffler, has won twice this year, most recently last week’s Charles Schwab Challenge. He also joined with Andrew Novak to capture the Zurich Classic of New Orleans two-man team event. The North Carolina native missed a three-foot par putt on the home hole for a 72 to slip one behind Scheffler at 209.

At one point, after three straight birdies, Griffin was five clear of the field at 10 under. He was six ahead of Scheffler, who was doing a terrific impression of your basic par machine. But then Griffin bogeyed four holes in a row starting at the ninth, righted the ship a bit, and then surrendered an extra stroke at the finish.

“Yeah, it was an interesting round. I felt like I was starting to separate myself midway through and then kind of got to some tough holes and didn’t execute very well,” Griffin, 29, said. “You can do that out here, and so tomorrow I’ve got to clean up some of those holes, make sure I stay aggressive.”

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Ranked 24th in the world, Griffin offered some bold words about his pairing with Scheffler, whom he has competed against since junior golf.

“My game feels really good,” he said. “Obviously, Scottie Scheffler’s the best player in the world, but No. 1 can be beat.” Later Griffin pointed out that, “I beat him last week.”

Uh huh.

OK, but now he has to go do it again against a guy who felt no sense of urgency even as he fell seven shots behind.

“Yeah, I did see that Ben got to 10 under, but … it’s not going to change my play in the middle of a Saturday,” the 28-year-old Texan said. “This golf course is really challenging and no lead’s safe around this place. I knew if I kept going and played a decent round, I would be in somewhat of a position to chase him down tomorrow.”

He chased Griffin down a lot sooner.

It’s not exactly a two-man race, but it feels that way. Nick Taylor, who began the third round tied at the top with Griffin, used a hole-out eagle from 118 yards at the par-4 14th to salvage a 74 and trails Scheffler by three at five-under 211.

Another two strokes back are Jordan Spieth, Keegan Bradley and Sepp Straka, another two-time winner this year who seemed to be playing a video game version of Muirfield Village, ignoring the wind and the rough and the occasional mud ball to submit a sublime bogey-free 66. Straka sandwiched a win at the Truist Championship between Scheffler’s victories.

Truly, players on form are emerging here during what has been a difficult week of weather and a menacing Muirfield Village layout, even with softened greens.

Bradley, the U.S. Ryder Cup captain, birdied four of his last five for 68. Spieth had a 72 with six pars, six birdies and six bogeys, including bogeys on the final two holes after climbing within one of the lead.

Spieth, still rebuilding his game after wrist surgery, said his confidence is “maybe seven out of 10. … I know how to get to 10, and it’s just more work.”

He wasn’t unhappy with his play, just his position relative to his fellow Dallas resident.

“The bummer for me is Scottie’s at seven or eight, and he just … you know, you can’t count on him shooting even tomorrow, so it would take something special,” Spieth said.

That’s the bummer for everyone. But, hey, No. 1 can be beat. Or so we hear.

This article was originally published on golfdigest.com