AUGUSTA, Ga. >> The door was open all day for Scottie Scheffler.

The defending Masters champion failed to take advantage time and time again, leaving him seven shots behind leader Rory McIlroy with a round left in his bid to join Jack Nicklaus as the only players to win three green jackets in a four-year span.

Scheffler wasn’t particularly sharp Saturday and failed to give himself many birdie opportunities. In fact, he spent the vast majority of the day scrambling to save par and the reality is his even-par 72 could have been much worse.

He was at 5-under 211 for the tournament.

“At times I felt good, at times I felt bad,” Scheffler said. “I just couldn’t really get anything going. I had to scramble a lot today, actually. I got off to a good start (with a birdie on No. 2), but after that I didn’t really feel like I gave myself enough opportunities, and the opportunities that I did have, I didn’t really quite take advantage of.”

A Scheffler comeback isn’t impossible.

Anything can happen on Sunday at the Masters.

In 1956, Jack Burke Jr., a 33-year-old pro who hadn’t won a tournament since 1953, trailed leader Ken Venturi by eight strokes entering the final round and rallied to win after shooting 71. Venturi, then a rookie, collapsed with an 80.

Scheffler, who is tied for seventh, would need a huge day — probably even better than his personal-best round of 66 at Augusta National — and several others to collapse, including McIlroy, who seems intently focused on snapping his decade-long majors drought and joining an elite group of players who have won golf’s career grand slam.

Stars give chase

Patrick Reed says his putter has been “on vacation.” Golf fans who primarily watch major championships and the PGA Tour might have the impression that Reed has been lounging on a beach somewhere, too.

But Reed’s putter might be coming home, and it helped him move up the leaderboard at the Masters on Saturday. The 2018 Masters champion shot a 3-under 69 to at least give himself an outside chance of chasing down Rory McIlroy over the last 18 holes.

Reed closed with three birdies over his final six holes. Ludvig Aberg also made a late move, with three straight birdies from Nos. 14-16 in his round of 69. Both were at 6-under 210, six shots behind McIlroy.

Justin Rose went the opposite direction, shooting 75 to fall seven shots back.

Aberg will have a hard time improving upon his finish last year, when only a sublime performance by Scottie Scheffler prevented the Swede from winning in his Masters debut. He closed with a 69 to finish alone in second.

Briefly

>> Min Woo Lee was penalized one stroke after his third round after tournament officials determined he caused his ball to move on the 13th fairway. The penalty turned his par on the hole into a bogey and his score into a 5-over 77.