Scottie Scheffler fends off wind, cold to lead Masters by 3 strokes

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The wind was very strong in Augusta, Ga. The lead was late Saturday afternoon at the Masters. The elements were in place for Scottie to feel the pressure of trying to win his first major.

After the final hole, he only looked worried for a short time.

His lead at 4 shots, his confidence level high, and his wild drive to the left of the 18th fairway didn't bother him as much as the sight of the spotter poking around in the leaves.

The guy with the flag always finds the balls and panicked. Fortunately, they found the ball. I was trying to figure out how I was going to get it on the green.

Like everything else this week, he figured it out.

He took a 1-shot penalty, dropped it onto pine straw and then ripped a 3-iron from 240 yards that hit the green and rolled just over the back, leaving him two putts for a bogey that felt much better.

In the third round, he had a 1-under 71, one of only nine scores under par, that gave him a 3-shot lead over Smith going into Sunday.

After every shot on every hole, he wore a vest over his layers of clothing to protect him from the cold wind. Maybe he will wear a green jacket.

Smith, who won the Players Championship, was the only player to break 70 in the low round and gave himself a chance to win the Masters. Two years ago, he was a runner-up to Johnson at Augusta.

It should be a great fight tomorrow, because Cam is a tremendous player and he has a fantastic short game. We are both in good shape, so I am looking forward to playing with him tomorrow.

The only other player within 5 shots was the runner-up.

The wind chill was in the upper 40s most of the day, which may have been a good sign for what to expect at Augusta National on Sunday.

The last player to fail to hold a lead of 3 shots or more going into the final round was then-21-year-oldRory McIlroy in 2011.

When he made his fourth bogey of the round on the par-5 eighth, he looked like he was going to turn this into a runaway.

A shot from the front Bunker on the par 3 12th went over the green. He made a bogey on the 14th and three-putted the 15th for another bogey after bouncing back with a bogey on the 17th.

He ran into big problems on the 18th after his best shot of the round, an approach to 4 feet for eagle on the 17th. He had to take a penalty drop on the pine straw because he yanked his tee shot into a canopy of trees.

He smashed his approach from over the back to the green and left two putts to keep his distance.

It felt like a par when I bogeyed the last hole, but a good finish to the day. I am looking forward to tomorrow.

He was 9-under 207.

The last time a final grouping of players from the top 10 in the world was at a major was at the 2015 PGA Championship.

The two hottest players in golf are Scheffler and Smith.

The 25-year-old from Dallas has won three of his past five tournaments, all against some of the strongest fields of the year, a run that has elevated him to No. 1 in the world.

Smith started the year with a record score to par at the season opener. He won the Players Championship last month, the next best thing to a major.

Smith said it was a good feeling to know that he could get it done. It is earned. It is not given to you. I am going to have to go out there tomorrow and play good golf, like I did today. Hopefully, everything falls into place.

The five-time Masters champion said he feels as though he has seen this before, as he finished as the leader. When the Masters is on the calendar, players hit peak form all the time.

In 2001, Woods won the Masters. When he won the green jacket in 2015, he had a pair of runner-up finishes. Fred Couples won twice and was runner-up twice.

We all wish we had that two, three-month window when we get hot, and hopefully majors fall somewhere along in that window, Woods said. Scottie seems to be in that window right now.

Schwartzel, who won the Masters in 2011, bogeyed the 16th and 17th and then dropped another shot on the 18th to slip to a 73. He was at 2-under with a score of 73.

The other players were all under par.

The Associated Press contributed to the story.