{"id":57880,"date":"2022-08-27T09:07:08","date_gmt":"2022-08-27T09:07:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/xander-schauffele-ends-with-birdie-birdie-eagle-to-finish-2-back-of-scottie-scheffler-at-tour-championship\/"},"modified":"2022-08-27T09:07:08","modified_gmt":"2022-08-27T09:07:08","slug":"xander-schauffele-ends-with-birdie-birdie-eagle-to-finish-2-back-of-scottie-scheffler-at-tour-championship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/xander-schauffele-ends-with-birdie-birdie-eagle-to-finish-2-back-of-scottie-scheffler-at-tour-championship\/","title":{"rendered":"Xander Schauffele ends with birdie-birdie-eagle to finish 2 back of Scottie Scheffler at Tour Championship"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

ATLANTA — Masters champion Scottie Scheffler is playing every bit like the No. 1 player in golf and was on the verge of turning the Tour Championship into a rout.<\/p>\n

Three holes by Xander Schauffele changed everything going into the weekend at East Lake.<\/p>\n

Schauffele holed a pair of birdie putts, and then drilled a 4-iron just over the bunker and right by the hole on the par-5 18th, rolling in a 5-foot eagle putt.<\/p>\n

The birdie-birdie-eagle finish — Scheffler had to settle for pars — gave Schauffele a 7-under 63 as he went from a 6-shot deficit to 2 shots behind Friday.<\/p>\n

Schauffele rarely gets overly excited, and this was no exception.<\/p>\n

“It was nice to pick up some shots late here, but it’s just a positioning battle going into Sunday,” he said. “There’s a lot of golf to be played on this property.<\/p>\n

Scheffler wasn’t overly concerned. He rarely is.<\/p>\n

“I’m just going to go out there and do my thing and try and play good golf,” Scheffler said. “Xander obviously has a great track record around here, but paying attention to what other guys do on the golf course has never served me too well.”<\/p>\n

Scheffler, who had a 66, was at 19 under par. He started at 10 under par as the No. 1 seed in the FedEx Cup — Schauffele started 4 shots behind as the No. 4 seed – and he had few complaints except for not making every birdie chance, and they were ample.<\/p>\n

Scheffler played bogey-free. The four putts from 10 feet or closer that he missed? He saw those only as opportunities, a reminder that he was playing the kind of golf that carried him to an amazing stretch of four wins in two months — capped by the Masters — in the spring.<\/p>\n

Starting the day with a 5-shot lead, Scheffler made birdie from 5 feet on the par-3 second hole and then pounded driver on the next hole so perfectly that he had a flip wedge into 5 feet for another birdie. At that point, he was ahead by 8 shots.<\/p>\n

Jon Rahm also had a 63 and worked his way closer to the top at 13 under. He was being interviewed when he looked up at a TV screen to see if Scheffler had made another birdie. He still was 6 shots behind. Defending champion Patrick Cantlay (66) and Sungjae Im (65) were 7 shots back.<\/p>\n

Rahm wasn’t sure if he put himself back in the mix, but his 63 made it feel more reasonable.<\/p>\n

“But he’s playing good golf, right? And we’re going to have to keep on going and play good golf, as well,” Rahm said. “It’s going to take a really strong weekend from me and hopefully not a strong one from Scottie. That’s kind of what we’re looking for.”<\/p>\n

Schauffele seemed to find that at the end. He was 6 shots behind when he hit his approach to 12 feet behind a back left pin on the 16th and made the birdie. From the fairway on the 17th, his wedge spun back to 4 feet.<\/p>\n

The 4-iron was bold and paid off.<\/p>\n

“It was a little right of where I wanted, but it had the distance and the shape. I hit it really well, so I wasn’t very worried about it,” Schauffele said. “Just trying to make sure to cover that corner and I hit it solid, so I knew it was going to cover. For it to go to 5, 6 feet was definitely a bonus.”<\/p>\n

Schauffele’s record around East Lake is astounding since he first arrived in 2017 as a PGA Tour rookie and won. The FedEx Cup was different that year, based on points that were reset for the final event of the year. Justin Thomas won the big bonus. When the tournament moved to the staggered start based on seedings, he had the low score over 72 holes when top-seeded Dustin Johnson won the FedEx Cup.<\/p>\n

No matter the format, Schauffele has never shot worse than par in 22 rounds. He has only two rounds at 70, the other 20 in the 60s.<\/p>\n

That’s not on his mind. Neither is the deficit he shrank to 4 shots over the final three holes.<\/p>\n

“There’s a lot at stake here, and staying present is going to be the hardest thing,” he said.<\/p>\n

At stake is the $18 million bonus and, for Schauffele, a chance to end the year with four PGA Tour titles. Scheffler wants to end the best year in golf with a fitting crown. Seven months ago, he still was looking for his first PGA Tour title.<\/p>\n

The best score of the soft, sunny day belonged to Max Homa, who had a 62 and still was 10 shots behind.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

ATLANTA — Masters champion Scottie Scheffler is playing every bit like the No. 1 player in golf and was on the verge of turning the Tour Championship into a rout. Three holes by Xander Schauffele changed everything going into the weekend at East Lake. Schauffele holed a pair of birdie putts, and then drilled a …<\/p>\n

Xander Schauffele ends with birdie-birdie-eagle to finish 2 back of Scottie Scheffler at Tour Championship<\/span> Read More »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[6],"tags":[46,1276,16263,3296],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":58914,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/scheffler-pulls-away-for-6-shot-lead-at-tour-championship\/","url_meta":{"origin":57880,"position":0},"title":"Scheffler pulls away for 6-shot lead at Tour Championship","date":"August 28, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"ATLANTA (AP) \u2014 Scottie Scheffler returned to East Lake on Sunday morning looking every bit like the No. 1 player, pulling away with four birdies in six holes to complete the third round with a 4-under 66 that gave him a six-shot lead in the Tour Championship.Scheffler was delivering a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sports"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":56578,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/scottie-scheffler-finishes-with-3-straight-birdies-leads-tour-championship-by-5-strokes-after-1st-round\/","url_meta":{"origin":57880,"position":1},"title":"Scottie Scheffler finishes with 3 straight birdies, leads Tour Championship by 5 strokes after 1st round","date":"August 26, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"ATLANTA -- Masters champion Scottie Scheffler might have had a roller coaster of an opening round Thursday at the Tour Championship if only he had been paying attention to the scoreboards.Scheffler started with a 2-shot lead as the No. 1 seed in the FedEx Cup. He led by as many\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sports"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":57627,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/max-homa-10-shots-back-despite-rare-62-joins-chorus-of-growing-tour-championship-format-frustration\/","url_meta":{"origin":57880,"position":2},"title":"Max Homa, 10 shots back despite rare 62, joins chorus of growing Tour Championship format frustration","date":"August 27, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"ATLANTA - The New England Patriots don't start the Super Bowl with a 14-point lead. Alabama doesn't have a 10-point advantage at kickoff in the college football national championship game. The Golden State Warriors didn't start the NBA Finals with a 15-point cushion.PGA Tour player Max Homa wonders whether the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sports"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":52368,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/patrick-cantlay-wins-another-thriller-at-bmw-championship-enters-tour-championship-as-no-2-seeds\/","url_meta":{"origin":57880,"position":3},"title":"Patrick Cantlay wins another thriller at BMW Championship; enters Tour Championship as No. 2 seeds","date":"August 22, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"WILMINGTON, Del. -- Patrick Cantlay won another thriller Sunday in the BMW Championship, getting a great bounce on the 17th hole that set up a short birdie and led to a 2-under 69 and a 1-shot victory over Scott Stallings.Cantlay became the first player to win the BMW Championship in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sports"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4536,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/tiger-woods-shoots-77-xander-schauffele-leads-after-round-1-of-jp-mcmanus-pro-am\/","url_meta":{"origin":57880,"position":4},"title":"Tiger Woods shoots 77, Xander Schauffele leads after Round 1 of JP McManus Pro-Am","date":"July 5, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Tiger Woods was back playing competitive golf Monday, shooting a 5-over 77 at the star-studded JP McManus Pro-Am at Adare Manor in Limerick, Ireland.Woods sits in a tie for 43rd in the 50-player field. Xander Schauffele, coming off a win at the Travelers a week ago, sits in first after\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sports"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":51593,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/patrick-cantlay-takes-1-shot-lead-into-final-round-at-bmw-championship\/","url_meta":{"origin":57880,"position":5},"title":"Patrick Cantlay takes 1-shot lead into final round at BMW Championship","date":"August 21, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"WILMINGTON, Del. -- Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele went from being teammates to close friends and now seem to be inseparable on the PGA Tour, so the final round of the BMW Championship might have the feel of one of their countless practice rounds.Except for the stakes.Cantlay holed out from\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sports"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/a.espncdn.com\/combiner\/i?img=\/photo\/2022\/0826\/r1053424_1024x576_16-9.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57880"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=57880"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57880\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57880"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=57880"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=57880"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}