Xander Schauffele is in a familiar position as the 54-hole leader at the Charles Schwab Challenge.
He held this spot earlier this season at the Sentry Tournament of Champions.
For Schauffele, each of his five professional wins came from chasing the leaders.
The 26-year-old hopes to change the fortune Sunday at Colonial, where he is currently 0-for-3 with the 54-hole lead.
“I played solid,” Schauffele said to reporters after his third round 66. “I tried to stay as cool as possible, hang out in the shade, and take care of my business.”
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With soft greens and little wind on Saturday, the golf course was gettable. Schauffele only shot one-under on the front 9 and was chasing Jordan Spieth, the leader at the time.
The La Jolla, California native found his groove on the back 9, converting back-to-back birdies on holes 10 and 11. On the par-4 12th, Schauffele’s second shot landed in an awkward spot in the greenside bunker beyond the pin. His third shot came out fast, stopping just shy of the opposite bunker on the fringe.
Schauffele rolled in the 16-foot par putt, maintaining the momentum of his round.
Leader @XSchauffele with a clutch par save following back-to-back birdies. 👏#MustSeeMoments: https://t.co/EnqKxpTOns pic.twitter.com/75wn5lUhAD
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 13, 2020
He made two birdies coming in on holes 15 and 18, both from distances longer than 10 feet. With no fans cheering him on, Schauffele focused on putting himself in a position to win on Sunday.
“Not having fans isn’t the craziest thing to me,” Schauffele said. “It just does feel like I’m playing at home with some of my buddies. It’s quiet. You make three birdies in a row, you can kind of give yourself a pat on the back. That’s kind of it.”
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Schauffele hasn’t taken anytime away from golf despite the quarantine. Even with the hiatus due to COVID-19, the rising star played golf in California, with players such as Charley Hoffman and Phil Mickelson.
The rust that normally accompanies golfers after a long layoff isn’t apparent for Schauffele.
“I’ve been playing and practicing for about a month now,” Schauffele said. “Once word got out that we were teeing it up and we were ready to go, I think word spread that everyone was going to play the first three or the first five or whatever it is. I think everyone has just been stuck at home and excited to do what we love to do, which is to come out and play golf.”
Schauffele winning Sunday won’t be easy. 13 players are within three shots of the lead, including Canadian Corey Conners, who shot his second consecutive 67.
Five golfers are one shot back of Schauffele, including 2019 U.S. Open champion Gary Woodland and three-time major champion Jordan Spieth.
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Spieth came into the third round one shot back of 36-hole leader Harold Varner III. He shot a two-under 68, after a back 9 where he recorded zero birdies and one bogey.
Dialed in. 🎯@JordanSpieth takes the solo lead @CSChallengeFW.#QuickHits pic.twitter.com/iUMC3dehfr
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 13, 2020
On the line for the Texas native is his first PGA Tour win since the 2017 Open Championship. With the win, Spieth joins Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, and Justin Thomas to secure 12 victories before age 27.
While the weirdness without crowds has increased throughout the week according to Spieth, he understands that tomorrow is still Sunday, the final round of a tournament, where conquering a strong leaderboard is the task at hand.
“Should be really fun tomorrow,” Spieth said to reporters after his third round. “Golf is kind of the only thing on TV tomorrow, and hopefully there can be a fun shootout with the number of guys, and hopefully I can be one of them.”
