McKINNEY, Texas (AP) — Scottie Scheffler's comfortable lead at his hometown CJ Cup Byron Nelson was the same late in the third round as it was at the start, even without the dominance the top-ranked player showed over the first 36 holes.
Then he found that form again, and made a big lead even bigger at 23 under while finishing after sunset Saturday night.
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Fans watch from the gallery as Jordan Spieth, front, hits off the seventh tee during the first round of the CJ Cup Byron Nelson golf tournament in McKinney, Texas, Thursday, May 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Gareth Patterson)
Scottie Scheffler chips off the fifth fairway during the first round of the CJ Cup Byron Nelson golf tournament in McKinney, Texas, Thursday, May 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Gareth Patterson)
Jordan Spieth walks on the fairway of the 16th hole during the first round of the CJ Cup Byron Nelson golf tournament in McKinney, Texas, Thursday, May 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Gareth Patterson)
Scottie Scheffler, right, walks on the 18th fairway during the first round of the CJ Cup Byron Nelson golf tournament in McKinney, Texas, Thursday, May 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Gareth Patterson)
Scheffler has an eight-shot lead after a 5-under 66 capped by birdies on three of the final five holes — the last on the par-5 18th more than 13 hours after the day began with about half the field needing to complete the second round, including 18 players who hadn't even started. There was a six-hour weather delay Friday.
Erik von Rooyen (65), Adam Schenk (65) and Ricky Castillo (67) are 15 under, with Kurt Kitiyama (68) and Jhonattan Vegas (67) another shot back.
Scheffler had his first two bogeys of the tournament and was 2 under for the day through 13 holes after missing the PGA Tour record for the lowest 36-hole score by one shot at 124 (18 under). His six-shot lead after two rounds was a Nelson record.
At the short par-4 14th, Scheffler drove the green before settling for a tap-in birdie, then put his tee shot at the long par-3 15th inside four feet for another birdie.
The horn for darkness had already sounded after Scheffler, Castillo and Sam Stevens teed off on 18 when the group in front was still in the fairway but cleared them to hit to try to save time. The players had the option to finish.
Scheffler couldn't see his second shot from the rough after impact, but it reached the green. He two-putted from 31 feet for the biggest 54-hole lead on the PGA Tour since Rory McIroy also led by eight on the way to winning the 2011 U.S. Open.
“I saw it take off the way I wanted it to,” Scheffler said of his approach on 18. “But after that, I couldn’t see that far. Really, I’d say the most challenging part was reading a green.”
Van Rooyen was in the rough beside the green on 18 in two shots and looking for another birdie that would have matched the low around of the day, only to need four strokes from there for a bogey.
“The rough was quite thin, so I thought I could scoot the ball through it,” van Rooyen said. “I didn’t the first time. Then it came out dead the second time as well. So I just got it wrong.”
Schenk, who had missed six consecutive cuts coming into the Nelson, left with a similar feeling on his matching 65 after a bogey on 15 stalled his momentum at the TPC Craig Ranch course in the Dallas suburbs.
Stevens started the day alone in second behind Scheffler, and was the only remaining player without a bogey when he had four in a five-hole stretch. The native of nearby Fort Worth was among five players at 13 under after a 70. That group included Antoine Rozner, who had the low around of the day at 63.
Jordan Spieth, Scheffler's fellow Dallas resident and former University of Texas golfer, shot a second consecutive 67 and is 10 under. He was the first of the two to make his tour debut in the Nelson when he contended on Sunday as a 16-year-old in 2010.
Scheffler's first appearance was four years later, and it will take a massive turn of events for him not to be the first of the good friends to win perhaps their favorite event. He's set to become the first high school golfer from Dallas to win the Nelson since Scott Verplank in 2007. He could also become the third wire-to-wire winner in the history of the tournament after Mark Hayes (1976) and Tom Watson (1980).
“I mean, I just walked off the golf course,” Scheffler said in the darkness of a post-round interview. “Tomorrow is not really a concern of mine right now.”
Scheffler's first bogey came at the par-3 fourth hole, when his tee shot came up short and he missed a 7-footer for par. The two-time Masters winner missed five fairways after missing a total of six the first two rounds.
“I definitely wasn’t as sharp as I was the last two days, but overall I posted a pretty good score,” Scheffler said. “Over a 72-hole tournament, you’re going to have days, or typically at least one day where your swing’s not firing on all cylinders like it was the first two days. It’s all about how you battle through that.”
AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
Fans watch from the gallery as Jordan Spieth, front, hits off the seventh tee during the first round of the CJ Cup Byron Nelson golf tournament in McKinney, Texas, Thursday, May 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Gareth Patterson)
Scottie Scheffler chips off the fifth fairway during the first round of the CJ Cup Byron Nelson golf tournament in McKinney, Texas, Thursday, May 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Gareth Patterson)
Jordan Spieth walks on the fairway of the 16th hole during the first round of the CJ Cup Byron Nelson golf tournament in McKinney, Texas, Thursday, May 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Gareth Patterson)
Scottie Scheffler, right, walks on the 18th fairway during the first round of the CJ Cup Byron Nelson golf tournament in McKinney, Texas, Thursday, May 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Gareth Patterson)
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Keionte Scott peeked over at the Miami sideline to see the reaction of his teammates as he sprinted 72 yards untouched for a touchdown returning an interception against defending national champion Ohio State.
They certainly were excited, as were a Pro Football Hall of Fame receiver and a former coach who won national championships with the Hurricanes.
Scott picked off a screen pass by Heisman Trophy finalist Julian Sayin, Carson Beck threw a touchdown pass and 10th-ranked Miami shocked the Buckeyes 24-14 on Wednesday night at the Cotton Bowl in the first College Football Playoff quarterfinal.
“I was full of emotions. ... That was a pretty cool moment,” said Scott, who has TD returns on both of his interceptions this season. “Just having fun. ... That’s what this team relies on, man, just going out there playing free and just having fun.”
The Hurricanes (12-2, CFP No. 10 seed) have won two playoff games to get into football’s final four after needing an at-large berth to make the 12-team field, after not even playing in the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game. One more win and they will get to play for a national championship in their home stadium.
Next for Miami in coach Mario Cristobal’s fourth season is a CFP semifinal at the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 8 against No. 3 seed Georgia or No. 6 seed Ole Miss, the SEC teams in the Sugar Bowl on Thursday night.
There hasn’t been a national title for “The U” since 2001, which was their fifth; Cristobal was a standout offensive tackle for the Hurricanes in their 1989 and 1991 championship seasons. The Hurricanes were denied a repeat championship in 2002 with a double-overtime loss in the Fiesta Bowl to Ohio State, the only other time the teams met in a bowl — and the last Miami played in that game.
“It is 100% not about me. I’m part of their team, I’m a part of that family,” Cristobal said. “It is my obligation as a former Miami Hurricane player and all the things that Miami did for my brother and I to do my best to try to provide these guys with even better opportunities so they can fulfill all the great things they are destined for.”
Before receiver Michael Irvin and coach Jimmy Johnson were Super Bowl champions with the Dallas Cowboys, they were part of the Hurricanes' 1987 national championship. Irvin excitedly ran down the sideline while Scott was scoring for a 14-0 lead, and Johnson was nearby when acknowledged by Cristobal during the on-field trophy presentation.
Now it's third-ranked Ohio State (12-2, CFP No. 2 seed), which went into the game as a 9 1/2-point favorite according to BetMGM Sportsbook, that can't win back-to-back national titles for the first time in program history.
The Buckeyes hadn't played since a 13-10 loss to now-No. 1 Indiana in a Big Ten championship game matchup of undefeated teams on Dec. 6. They still got a first-round bye, then lost just like all four teams that went directly to the quarterfinal round in the inaugural 12-team playoff last season.
“We worked really hard during the last three weeks leading up to this game to come out of the gates and win the first quarter, win the first half, be ready to go,” Buckeyes coach Ryan Day said. “I think the guys bought into it. But at the end of the day, we didn’t get it done.”
Scott's interception return came only 1:42 after Beck's quick pass to Mark Fletcher Jr. out of the backfield for a 9-yard score.
Beck, who was part of Georgia's national titles in 2021 and 2022 when Stetson Bennett was the starter, completed 19 of 26 passes for 138 yards.
When asked what stood out to him about these Hurricanes, Beck said, “Just the way that this team has responded to adversity. We knew coming into today that it wasn’t going to be easy.”
The TD throw to Fletcher, who also ran 19 times for 90 yards and was the game's offensive MVP, was the seventh of 13 consecutive completions for Beck. That set a record in the Cotton Bowl, which was played for the 90th time.
Sayin, a freshman backup behind Will Howard for Ohio State's championship run last season, was 22 of 35 for 287 yards with two interceptions and a TD to Jeremiah Smith. Sayin was sacked five times.
AP All-America receiver Smith, the Miami native, caught seven of those passes for 157 yards, including a 14-yard TD on a fourth down in the fourth quarter.
Carter Davis added a 49-yard field goal in the third quarter and ChaMar Brown ran for a 5-yard TD in the game's final minute for the Hurricanes, whose 24 points were the most Ohio State gave up this season.
Miami: The Hurricanes have won six games in a row since an overtime loss Nov. 1 at SMU, less than 25 miles from AT&T Stadium, where the Cotton Bowl is played. They also made their CFP debut in the Lone Star State, winning 10-3 at No. 7 Texas A&M in the first round on Dec. 20.
Ohio State: All-America safety Caleb Downs, who started in the CFP for the third season in a row, became the first player to force two fumbles in a CFP game. ... The Buckeyes had gone four consecutive quarters — the equivalent of a full game — until Bo Jackson’s 1-yard TD run to cap its opening drive of the second half.
Miami waits to see who it will play in the Fiesta Bowl. Ohio State is scheduled to open the the 2026 season at home against Ball State on Sept. 5.
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Former NFL football players Ray Lewis, left, and Michael Irvin react after Miami running back Charmar Brown, not visible, scored a rushing touchdown during the second half of the Cotton Bowl College Football Playoff quarterfinal game against Ohio State Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Miami head coach Mario Cristobal, right, hugs defensive lineman Ahmad Moten Sr. following the Cotton Bowl College Football Playoff quarterfinal game against Ohio State Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin, center, is sacked by Miami defensive lineman Rueben Bain Jr., left, and defensive lineman Akheem Mesidor during the first half of the Cotton Bowl College Football Playoff quarterfinal game Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Miami quarterback Carson Beck, right, prepares to hand off to running back Mark Fletcher Jr. during the first half of the Cotton Bowl College Football Playoff quarterfinal game against Ohio State Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Ohio State kicker Jayden Fielding, with Joe McGuire holding, misses a field goal against Miami during the first half of the Cotton Bowl College Football Playoff quarterfinal game Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Ohio State head coach Ryan Day looks o during the first half of the Cotton Bowl College Football Playoff quarterfinal game against Miami Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Gareth Patterson)
Miami defensive back Jakobe Thomas, right, makes a tackle on Ohio State tight end Will Kacmarek during the second half of the Cotton Bowl College Football Playoff quarterfinal game Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Gareth Patterson)
