COLUMBUS, Ohio – As Scottie Scheffler arrived at the podium to meet reporters Saturday evening at the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday, his CBS interview from moments earlier was rolling on an adjacent television screen. The reporters were caught off-guard by Scheffler’s prompt appearance, as it wasn’t clear the CBS interview was running on a slight delay.

Scheffler realized this discrepancy. “I can transport,” he grinned.

If Scheffler really had superhuman tendencies, we wouldn’t be surprised. The world No. 1 entered the week with two wins in his last three starts, winning THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson by eight and the PGA Championship by five before a T4 at last week’s Charles Schwab Challenge, and he enters the final round at the Memorial Tournament with a one-stroke lead at 8-under, having made birdie on four of his last five holes Saturday to pull ahead of Ben Griffin – last week’s winner at Colonial, his second win in five starts. Scheffler might be the consensus favorite into Sunday in central Ohio – but his playing partner is also playing some of the world’s best golf this spring.

It makes for an intriguing Sunday at the season’s seventh of eight Signature Events.

“I’m familiar with his golf game. It’s obviously very good,” Griffin said of Scheffler. “It's going to be a ton of fun. Final group, it's what we dream of as kids, so excited to get out there and battle.”

Scheffler’s first four PGA TOUR wins came in a six-start span in spring 2022, quickly replacing the questions of when he’d ever break through with speculation that he could become a generational pro. As a 15-time PGA TOUR winner, including three major titles, he’s well on his way.

Griffin, who was born six weeks before Scheffler in 1996, hasn’t quite reached generational status of course – but he’s following a similar trajectory after breaking into the winner’s circle. Like Scheffler, he earned his PGA TOUR card via the Korn Ferry Tour and then earned his first TOUR title in his third season on TOUR. Like Scheffler, he quickly won again; Griffin has won twice in his last five starts, breaking through at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans (alongside Andrew Novak) and adding a victory last week at Colonial. Scheffler has proven he can win in bunches, and Griffin is tracking toward the same – quickly garnering the attention of U.S. Team Ryder Cup Captain Keegan Bradley in advance of this fall’s matches at Bethpage Black. “Ben Griffin’s playing really well,” Bradley noted after making four birdies in his last five holes to move into a tie for fourth at 3-under, five off the lead into Sunday.

Scheffler too has noticed Griffin’s rapid ascent into the game’s upper echelon, a progression that has seemed rapid but is many years in the making. Scheffler and Griffin were frequent competitors on the junior and amateur golf circuits, and Griffin wasn’t always the best ball-striker, relying on his short-game skills to contend (as he recalled in his winner’s presser at the Charles Schwab Challenge on a day where he continually saved pars from precarious predicaments.) Griffin worked diligently to improve his long game, and Scheffler has appreciated the transformation; the world No. 1 went into detail Saturday about Griffin’s quirky swing as a younger player.

“He used to have a really strong grip and a very shut face at the top that was almost a little bit like across the line. It was just an interesting motion,” Scheffler said Saturday. “He wasn't the best ball-striker in junior and amateur golf and he's turned into a really good ball-striker just by making swing changes and a lot of hard work. You always tip your cap when you see a guy who puts in a ton of effort and gets a lot out of it. It's always really fun for us as players to watch and you love seeing those types of guys have success.”

Griffin, in turn, appreciated the kind words.

“Any time you can get a compliment from the best player in the world it means you’re doing something decent at least,” he said. “I've known Scottie for forever. His game's always been very good. I mean, he had a stretch in college where he wasn't even sure if he was going to play professionally, just battling his injury. So it's been awesome to see our progression as players.

“I put in a lot of hard work to kind of improve my ball striking, which was never, never a good part of my game throughout the history of my golf. I was always a good chipper and putter. So now the that the ball striking's kind of coming around I feel like the sky's kind of the limit.”

Now the two are set for a Sunday duel on a demanding Muirfield Village layout which played nearly two strokes over par in the third round. Griffin led by five strokes at one point Saturday, but it’s hard to expect a runaway anytime Scheffler is involved, and things moved toward equilibrium as the back nine progressed. But who’s to say Griffin can’t stare down the world No. 1, hold his own and earn his third win in six starts?

The floodgates can open in a hurry, as Scheffler knows quite well, and Griffin is amidst a springtime cascade of momentum. The University of North Carolina alum has invested in his body this year – he said Saturday that he has started to treat working out like a second full-time job – and distance gains have followed, allowing him to attack hole locations with shorter irons and post lower scores. Griffin has been at ease with the media since his days on the Korn Ferry Tour, and his time as a mortgage loan officer lets him keep proper perspective about the opportunity to play a game for a living. Rather than being intimidated by crowds or attention, he thrives in the spotlight.

It's hard to concoct a greater spotlight than playing in the final pairing at a historic event alongside the world No. 1. Nick Taylor holds third place at 5-under, three off the lead, and a trio of intriguing contenders share fourth place in Bradley, Jordan Spieth and Sepp Straka – but they’re five back of Scheffler, a high mountain to climb.

Scheffler’s closest and most dangerous pursuer is Griffin – who intends to relish the moment.

“I would like to say that's what all of us out here on TOUR wish for. They want to compete against the best players. I definitely do,” Griffin said. “I want to stack up my game against his … I feel like he obviously can be beaten, and I've just got to keep the pedal down and make a lot of birdies because I know he's going to as well.”

Griffin and Scheffler had previously played just one round together on TOUR – in the final group of the third round of THE PLAYERS Championship in 2023. Griffin shot 72 and was dusted by Scheffler’s 7-under 65, “back when he was playing video-game golf,” as Griffin recalled Saturday. Scheffler proceeded to win the tournament, and Griffin drifted to a T35 finish.

Things are different now. Griffin was a rookie at the time, and now he’s a two-time TOUR winner. But he’s still going up against the game’s most daunting front-runner in Scheffler, who so rarely makes mistakes that it forces other players to press and run the risk of making mistakes.

The golf world expects Scheffler to win Sunday, of course. But Griffin is plenty capable.