Straka Surges Ahead With 64 to Take Solo Lead Into Final Round at Albany
The third round of the 2025 Hero World Challenge began with five players tied for the lead. After 18 holes on Saturday at Albany, Bahamas, Sepp Straka stood alone atop the leaderboard.
Straka shot an 8-under-par 64, tying the low round posted this week. The top-ranked Austrian golfer leads two-time defending champion Scottie Scheffler by one shot going into Sunday’s final round. In 2023, Straka finished runner-up to Scheffler, who claimed the first of his back-to-back victories at Albany that year. Now two years later, Straka aims to keep it simple tomorrow to reverse fortunes against the world’s top-ranked player.
“Just keep doing what I’m doing,” Straka said of his game plan going into Sunday’s final round. “Iron play was really good. I just struggled with the driver a little bit. Hopefully clean that up for tomorrow.”
If Straka felt his driver needed work, it was news to the field. He hit 13-of-13 fairways to tie for the lead in driving accuracy during the third round.
Like Straka, Scheffler hit all 13 fairways in the third round. His 7-under 65 was his 14th consecutive round in the 60s at the Hero World Challenge, dating back to 2022. If Scheffler is able to emerge victorious tomorrow, he would become the first player in tournament history to win the event three years in a row.
One place where Scheffler, and others, struggled in the third round was the eighth hole. The 206-yard, par-3 hole took no prisoners on Saturday. The hole yielded three bogeys (Scheffler among them), three double-bogeys, 11 pars and only three birdies on the day.
One player who birdied the eighth hole was Sam Burns. After starting the day in 16th place, Burns posted a 7-under 65 and moved to T9 on the leaderboard. His round was bested by only Straka, who took the outright lead.
Sunday’s final round is sure to deliver on drama with five players within four shots of the lead. The final round of the 2025 Hero World Challenge gets underway at 10:46 a.m. from Albany, Bahamas. Final-round TV coverage can be found on GOLF Channel from 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. ET and on NBC from 1:30-4:30 p.m. ET.