Schauffele leads Page B-7
Schauffele tops leader board full of major winners
Late birdie gives Xander Schauffele the lead going into Round 4 at Colonial.
FORT WORTH, Texas — The PGA Tour went three months without playing. It took three days to show fans what they were missing, even if all they could do was watch on TV.
Eight players had at least a share of the lead at some point Saturday in the Charles Schwab Challenge. When the third round at Colonial ended, 14 players were separated by three shots.
And not just anybody — six have won majors.
Xander Schauffele, among the growing roster of young stars in golf, finished off his six-birdie round with a 12-footer on the final hole for a 4-under 66.
Those who were one shot behind included Jordan Spieth, whose short game helped him navigate some early trouble and nerves. He had the lead until failing to make a birdie on the back nine. Still, his 68 gave him his best 54-hole position since Colonial a year ago as he tries to end three years without winning.
Also one shot behind was Justin Thomas (66) and U.S. Open champion Gary Woodland, who quickly got into the mix with birdies on his final two holes for a 66.
Rory McIlroy (69) and Justin Rose (68) were among those three shots behind. Patrick Reed, who had to birdie three of his final six holes Friday to make the cut with one shot to spare, shot 63 and was three back.
All this with hardly any noise.
“I don’t have like a huge effect on the crowd I’d say, so not having fans isn’t the craziest thing to me,” Schauffele said. “It just does feel like I’m playing at home with some of my buddies. It’s quiet. You make three birdies in a row, you can kind of give yourself a pat on the back.”
This wasn’t entirely a TV show. A few houses in the Colonial neighborhood put up their own hospitality tents to see limited golf, the rowdiest behind the 16th tee and another down the 15th fairway. Fans gathered on the balcony of an apartment complex along the 14th, which also brought out the first, “Get in the hole!” since March 12, when the PGA Tour shut down because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
On the course, there were
no bursts of cheers as Spieth rammed in a 40-foot putt on the eighth hole or stuffed his approach to 3 feet on No. 9 to take the lead. A few dozen of the essential personnel — broadcast crews, volunteers for scoring — were around when Schauffele made his birdie for the lead at 13-under 197.
But there are leader boards that show only the score — no need for updates on FedEx Cup leaders or statistical data for each player as he prepares a shot because that’s for the fans, and there are none.
That will be the only way anyone knows where they stand in what figures to be a wild chase to the finish.
“When you have spectators and things, you get on a roll, and most of the time you feed off of that,” said Branden Grace, whose third consecutive 66 left him one shot behind. “I remember when I won Hilton Head and played well in the majors, the crowd started getting behind you and you start feeling like you can’t do anything wrong. At the moment, it’s just you and your caddie out there.”
Colonial is the first of five tournaments the PGA Tour will play without fans. Players have had three days to adjust to the lack of sound. Sunday is different, everyone trying to generate their own momentum without the energy typically delivered from outside the ropes.
“When you get into contention and have a chance to win a golf tournament, that adrenaline starts pumping,” Woodland said.
The field is the strongest Colonial has seen in recent years, not surprising because so many players were eager for competition. And this week has made clear that so many of them came to play.