Scottie Scheffler ended Saturday at the Scottish Open with an outside chance of taking a run at winning – in large part due to Rory McIlroy going on a tear and finishing at 11-under for the lead

Scottie Scheffler isn’t out of contention at the Scottish Open

Scottie Scheffler issued a timely warning to his rivals on the PGA Tour and LIV Golf ahead of next week’s Open Championship, as he said he felt he was growing in confidence despite posting his lowest score of the week at the Scottish Open.

Scheffler, the world No. 1, posted a score of 1-under for the day in what was, on paper, a slightly disappointing round given the circumstances. Scheffler was out in the middle of in the afternoon and crucially made the turn on the coastal holes when the wind had calmed down.

Scheffler went into the day seven shots back from the lead after playing his first two rounds with Bob MacIntyre, and needed a big front nine to give him a boost if he was to finish the round in contention. Instead, his front nine saw him par every hole apart from the fourth, which he bogeyed.

Scheffler seemed to be happier than he was on Friday, when he had been visibly frustrated on a number of holes around the turn.

The three-time major champion was very clearly annoyed with himself and his putter after struggling for reads, even yelling at himself after missing a putt on 12.

And when asked by Mirror US Sports on Saturday about how he was feeling, Scheffler joked that he still wasn’t feeling too happy.

However, he turned it into a positive, noting he was feeling as good as ever about his game going into the Open Championship in Northern Ireland next week.

Scottie Scheffler thinks he played his best golf on Saturday despite his lowest score of the week

When asked about how his happiness levels seemed higher than previous days, Scheffler jokingly responded: “It wasn’t that high! I feel like I got pretty frustrated today.

“That’s what’s funny, Thursday I shot three under, yesterday I shot two under, today I shot one [under], and today I felt like I played the best.

“I was definitely the most encouraged by how my swing felt and everything. I was a bit frustrated to not get more out of the round, but it gives me good confidence going into tomorrow and definitely more confidence going into next week, also.”

Scheffler elaborated on his struggles with the putter on Friday, insisting it’s tough to get reads on the links greens, and suggesting that was the root of his frustration.

“At the beginning I was very unhappy with it!” he laughed, referring to his birdie-less front nine.

“The ball on the greens here, it tends to move around a little bit, you can hit some good putts that don’t go in, some putts you don’t think are going in that go in.

“I would have liked to be a little bit more patient on the greens, but like you said, towards the end of the round I holed some nice putts, so that gives me some good confidence for tomorrow.”