New Haven Register (Sunday) (New Haven, CT)
Crunch time
Schauffele’s lead shrinks as Cantlay moves one shot back
CROMWELL — Xander Schauffele has been on top of the Travelers Championship leaderboard since Rory McIlroy butchered the 12th hole on Friday afternoon.
Schauffele was one group ahead of the world's secondranked golfer and built himself a sizable lead by the midway point of the tournament.
When the dust settled late on Saturday afternoon, Schauffele was still atop the leaderboard, but the gap had closed.
Schauffele takes a 1-stroke lead over Patrick Cantlay into Sunday's final round at TPC River Highlands.
“For the most part I knew it wasn't going to be easy to protect a lead, especially when it's five shots and it's easy to get comfortable,” Schauffele said. “It's easy to hit it to 30 feet out here with a wedge. But that's just not going to be enough to win. So I got to make a few more birdies tomorrow.”
The two U.S. golfers have similar resumes. Schauffele is 15th in the world golf rankings, has five PGA Tour victories and has eight top-15 finishes this season, including both the PGA Championship and U.S. Open.
Cantlay — the author of the second-round 60 at TPC River Highlands in 2011 when he was still an amateur at UCLA — is seventh in the world rankings.
The 30-year-old has seven tour wins and seven top-10 finishes this season.
“I'm out there grinding as hard as I possibly can. And my focus was really good today. I thought I stayed in it the entire 18 holes and that's all you can ask for,” Cantlay said.
Temperatures were sizzling — it went over 90 degrees on the TPC grounds — and so was the golf, especially from Cantlay, who fired a 7-under 63. He trailed by 5 heading into the day playing in the final group of the day with Schauffele.
Now he gets to play with Schauffele again on Sunday in the final pairing. The two were teammates at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, winning the two-man event in April.
“Yeah, if only it was a combined score again this week we would be doing well. It's always nice to be out with him, if he's on my team or if he's not. I'm going to go out there tomorrow and try as hard as I can and let the chips
fall where they may,” Cantlay said.
Sahith Theegala, a PGA Tour rookie, is in third place at 14-under. He will be playing with Kevin Kisner, who shot 64 to stand in 4th all alone at 13-under.
Theegala turned pro at the Travelers in 2020 on a sponsor's exemption.
“Oh, it would mean the world, obviously,” Theegala said about a victory Sunday. “To say that this was my PGA Tour professional debut and then to come back here two years later and kind of earn my way into the tournament instead of needing a spot, it would mean a lot. This already holds a special place to me, no matter what happens tomorrow. It's my first start and, yeah, that's never going to change.”
As for McIlroy, a 72 Saturday put him out of contention in a tie for 31st. Scottie Scheffler, the world's No. 1 golfer and reigning Masters champion, is tied for 11th, 7 strokes behind the leader.
Also in that tie for 11th is Harris English, the defending champion.
It took until the 49th hole of his tournament for Schauffele to make a bogey. He sliced his drive on the par-5 13th hole into the water.
Theegala made just two birdies on the front nine. But he got hot on the back, birdieing 11, eagleing 13, birdieing 15 and 17. After Schauffele made that first bogey of the tournament, the two men were tied.
But a poor drive on 18 led to a bogey and just as quickly as Theegala was on top, he quickly fell behind.
Cantlay moved into a tie for the lead after he birdied 15. But Schauffele responded with birdies on 16 and 17. Cantlay also birdied 17.
Schauffele and Cantlay go off at 1:55
p.m. Sunday. The temperature is expected to be 90 degrees.