Big round makes Schauffele champion of Champions
Xander Schauffele tied the Plantation course record with an 11-under 62 on Sunday, and he needed every shot to beat Gary Woodland by one shot and win the Sentry Tournament of Champions.
Schauffele started the final round five shots out of the lead and opened with a bogey.
His fortunes turned quickly, and it got better with every hole. He ran off three straight birdies. He chipped in from the front of the green on the par-5 ninth for eagle. He holed a wedge from 107 yards for another eagle on No. 12. He took his first lead with back-to-back birdies on the 14th and 15th holes, both times coming close to chipping in for more eagles.
Tied with Woodland over the closing holes, Schauffele finished birdie-birdie to match four players for the record.
“It was a crazy day,” Schauffele said after his fourth career PGA Tour victory, and second in as many starts this season. “I didn’t do much leaderboard watching. I knew it was going to be a birdie-fest at the end. We kept our head down and made a run for it.” Woodland had a chance to force a playoff, but he hit his drive on the par-5 18th so far — 390 yards downhill but into a Kona wind — that he was between clubs. He tried to draw a hard 4-iron and left it out to the right, hit a pitch-and-run to 10 feet and missed the birdie putt.
It was a tough loss for Woodland. He started the final round with a three-shot lead and closed with a bogey-free 68. He never shot worse than 68 all week and was the only player in the winners-only field to have all four rounds in the 60s. It still wasn’t enough. “This one will sting,” Woodland said.
Schauffele doesn’t get as much attention as some others from the vaunted high school class of 2011 — Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas head that list — but he is becoming increasingly tough to ignore. This is the second time in three seasons that he has at least two victories.
Thomas closed with a 65 to finish alone in third.
Brooks Koepka closed with a 69 to finish 24th, meaning Justin Rose returns to No. 1 in the world.