Schauffele captures WGC title
Californian wins HSBC Champions in playoff
The quick burst onto the scene for Xander Schauffele continued Sunday.
Schauffele closed with a 4-under-par
68 for a 14-under total to reach a playoff with Tony Finau and proceeded to birdie the first extra hole to capture the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions title at Sheshan International Golf Club in Shanghai. It is the 25-year-old’s third PGA Tour win and first WGC title.
“I was definitely in sort of an attack mode, and I was hitting good shots all day, making good putts,” Schauffele said of his mind-set during the final round. “I was doing everything that I needed to do.”
It was a winless 2017-18 campaign for Schauffele, but that was preceded by a fast jump that saw him go from fighting for his PGA Tour card during the 2016-17 season to a two-time PGA Tour winner that same campaign (including a triumph in the Tour Championship).
“It just feels good to win again,” he added. “(My first two PGA Tour) wins were pretty close in my rookie year and I didn’t really know what I was doing. Not that I had a clue of what I was doing today, but it’s a lot of fun. You practice, you play hard, and you do everything that you can to get in this position and it honestly is a great feeling to pull it off.”
While he didn’t win last season, Schauffele still posted five top-3 finishes worldwide. That included a deep run at Carnoustie that almost saw him win the British Open (he would finish tied for second).
Schauffele began the final round three behind Finau but had taken the solo lead by the time they reached the
14th tee. Schauffele had played 3 under to that point while Finau was 1 over thanks to three bogeys.
A Finau birdie at the 14th squared it up, and he took back the solo lead when Schauffele bogeyed No. 15. Schauffele fired 10 feet short of the flag, though, at the par-3 17th and drained the birdie putt to square it up again heading to the 72nd hole.
Both birdied the par 5 to set up a playoff.
The pair returned to 18 for the playoff, with Schauffele playing it perfectly. He left himself some 25 feet for eagle on the green, while Finau had 20 feet for birdie from the fringe. Schauffele lagged to inches and tapped in for birdie.
Finau had to make to extend and his putt was on line, but it came up a few inches short.
Finau was the 36- and 54-hole leader and seemed ready to grab that second PGA Tour win that he has been waiting patiently for since his opening triumph in the 2016 Puerto Rico Open. This is his second runner-up in his last six starts, though, and he still hasn’t finished worse than tied for 15th since the PGA Championship.
Short shots: Defending champion Justin Rose was in the mix late, but two late bogeys relegated him to a 72 and a solo third finish at 10 under. … Patrick Reed, the first-round leader, closed in 77 to drop five spots to T-7 at
5 under. … Jason Day also struggled Sunday. His more mild 74 saw him place T-11 at 4 under. … In his first start at World No. 1, Brooks Koepka never contended. But a final-round 69 allowed him a T-16 showing at 2 under. … Dustin Johnson finished 3 over for
T-30. … Rory McIlroy failed to break par in any round and came in at 10 over for a T-54 showing.
Up next: The Tour heads back to the USA as the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open is on tap. The field is stellar, as it includes Jordan Spieth, Rickie Fowler and Bryson DeChambeau.