Colonial doesn’t feel like a major, but it’s got a major logjam heading into Sunday
Xander Schauffele wouldn’t say this year’s Charles Schwab Challenge has a major championship feel to it. It’s hard to draw that comparison with no fans.
But it does have a major-esque leaderboard going into Sunday’s final round with 14 players within 3 shots of the lead. Of the 14, seven are ranked in the top 20. The lowest-ranked is Harold Varner III, No. 124, who was the leader after two rounds.
Now the leader is Schauffele, the 12th-best player in the world who sits at 13-under after firing a 4-under 66 on Saturday. He opened with rounds of 65-66 after his previous-best round at Colonial had been a 67.
Playing with No. 1-ranked Rory McIlroy, Schauffele put together a solid round with six birdies and two bogeys. He broke what once was a six-way tie for the lead by draining a 12-footer for birdie on No. 18.
“It does feel like I’m playing at home with some of my buddies. It’s quiet,” Schauffele said. “You make three birdies in a row, you can kind of give yourself a pat on the back. That’s kind of it.”
Schauffele has plenty of work to do to secure his fifth PGA Tour victory. There are plenty of household names chasing him.
Local favorite Jordan Spieth is among five tied for second at 12-under. Spieth held the lead when he made the turn at 13-under, but dropped a shot with a bogey on No. 15.
Spieth made no birdies on the back nine after making nine on those holes over the first two rounds.
“I felt like I actually hit it better on the back than the front but just didn’t make anything,” Spieth said. “I didn’t hit my wedges close on the back. I really didn’t have a whole lot of good looks for birdie inside of 20 feet today. I was fortunate to make a couple from outside that range.”
Spieth feels good going into the final round just 1 shot back, searching for his first victory since his British Open win in 2017.
But the leaderboard is stacked with names who could emerge on the final day.
Among those tied with Spieth at 12-under is reigning U.S. Open champion Gary Woodland, who has made just three bogeys through the first three rounds. No. 4-ranked Justin Thomas had a bogey-free day on Saturday and his caddie Jimmy Johnson has led two players to victory in the past. Branden Grace and Collin Morikawa are the others at 12-under.
At 11-under are Daniel Berger and Varner. And there are plenty of threats lurking just 3 shots back, including McIlroy, 2018 Colonial champion Justin Rose and former Masters winner Patrick Reed. Others in that 10-under group include bulked-up Bryson DeChambeau, Texas native Abraham Ancer and Canadian Corey Conners.
“I didn’t feel like I played very well today, but looking at the leaderboard, no one else really pulled away,” McIlroy said. “I’m still going to be within striking distance going into tomorrow. If that’s a bad day out of the way, then hopefully I can post a good one tomorrow.”
All of it has the makings for an entertaining Sunday in Fort Worth. Saturday didn’t disappoint.
There were highlights such as Spieth chipping in for birdie on No. 2 or Thomas sticking it to within 3 feet for a tap-in birdie on No. 17. Thomas celebrated with a fake wave and nod to the non-existent crowd.
And there were moments where players struggled such as McIlroy making one of just eight bogeys carded on the par-3 eighth, or Rose three-putting from 17 feet for bogey on the par-3 16th.
“It’s a bunched leaderboard now with a lot of great players, so you’ve got to expect someone is going to shoot a low one,” Spieth said. “For me, I’m just going to kind of fire away.”
That’s the mindset of most going into the final round that has a great feel to it with such a loaded leaderboard. But it’s impossible to ignore the unique circumstances without galleries following groups.
McIlroy, just the second No. 1-ranked player to play Colonial in the last 25 years, walked up the 18th fairway with about a dozen people watching him. Rose and Woodland, two major champions in the prime of their careers, had even fewer when they approached No. 18.
“This is new to us all,” Rose said. “It’s going to feel different for everybody, but it’s going to feel as rewarding to win. You’re going to have to beat a great field and it’s going to be a good leaderboard to contest against. Whoever wins tomorrow is going to have to go out and play some good golf.”
This story was originally published June 13, 2020 at 6:23 PM.
