Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele each had clumps of mud on their golf balls from the middle of the 16th fairway — the hardest hole at Quail Hollow — and saw their shots curve hard to the left, over the green and into the water, leading to double bogeys.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Scottie Scheffler stood over his ball in the fairway of the 16th, the tee 322 yards behind him. He was in perfect position to conquer the first leg of Quail Hollow’s fearsome Green Mile, the three-hole scorecard-swallowing closing stretch.