Scottie Scheffler rockets into lead of PGA Championship off the back of one perfect swing

One perfect swing was all world No.1 Scottie Scheffler needed to send Quail Hollow into delirium, rattle Bryson DeChambeau, and put himself in the box seat for a third major at the PGA Championship.

Scheffler stood on the 14th tee, 278m from the hole, thinking it might come up a little short with the wind gusting right to left against his preferred fade. It was nearly perfect, the ball climbing onto the green and settling well inside a metre from the hole.

Trailing by a shot at the time, the eagle shot him to the outright lead and started a closing stretch that was nothing short of a clinic. He shot 5-under over the last five holes to sign for a 6-under 65 and a three-shot lead.

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“I executed the shot,” Scheffler said.

“Did I execute it thinking I hit it 2 feet or whatever it was? I mean, there's a little bit of luck involved in that when you're at 300 yards. But overall, I executed how I wanted to.”

He did that a lot in the final hour and left so many contenders feeling helpless against the No.1 player in the world.

Jon Rahm made a run with three straight birdies. Bryson DeChambeau briefly had the lead, but his charge was dealt a heavy blow right at the exact moment Scheffler was making magic on the 14th.

DeChambeau's tee shot on the par-3 17th had found the water, and he was standing over a lengthy bogey putt when the cheers erupted from about 60m away across the lake as Scheffler's ball came to rest.

DeChambeau backed off the putt, and would go on to miss it. He would make double bogey, and would eventually end the day six shots off the lead.

"I hit a great 9-iron exactly the way I wanted to. The wind just pumped it. Nothing I can do," DeChambeau said. "Wind flipped from being neutral off the right and it just was almost straight in. We misjudged that, considering on (hole) 16 we thought it was playing almost a little downwind."

On the 18th, DeChambeau again misjudged the wind and left his approach shot from the fairway bunker short of the flag. He had to settle for par.

"The wind cost me three shots, and that's what happens here at Quail Hollow," DeChambeau said.

It was a tough break considering he had played the first 15 holes so masterfully in 5-under par and was looking at one of his best rounds at a major.

"That's why golf is the worst four-letter word in the world," he said.

DeChambeau said he wouldn't change anything about how he played his round.

"I can't complain too much," said DeChambeau, who shot 2-under 69. "You can always ask for more. You can always try to be a little greedier out there."

On the 18th, Scheffler stuck an 8-iron to about 3m, pumped his fist and let out a "F--k yeah, baby!"

“I typically don’t show much emotion. I don’t know how much I showed there. I don’t really think about what I’m doing,” Scheffler said. "I just felt like I hit two really good shots in there ... and was able to just take advantage of the opportunity.

“Wherever the emotion came from, felt like an important part of the round to finish off the round the right way.”

Adam Scott's steady march up the leaderboard continued. He carded a 2-under 69 to move onto the cusp of the top-10 at 4-under, seven shots off Scheffler.

Scott was neat and tidy all day. He made only one bogey and three birdies.

Kiwi Ryan Fox's third round was a rollercoaster. He made five birdies and six bogeys on his way to a 1-over 72 to lose touch with the leaders. He's one of six players at 3-under for the tournament.

Cam Davis is also in that group. He made three bogeys on his front nine, but played the three-hole 13-14-15 stretch at 4-under, including a hole out with a 53m pitch shot on the par-5 15th.