Xander Schauffele played incredibly well during the third round at Royal Troon, and now he has a great chance to nab his second major title.
The weather turned for the worse at The Open Championship on Saturday afternoon, leaving the contenders struggling to survive.
Pars became nearly impossible to save, and birdies were an afterthought. But amid the fray, Xander Schauffele rose up the leaderboard with a marvelous 2-under 69 at Royal Troon.
“I’d say so, yes. It for sure was,” Schauffele said when asked if his third round was one of the best of his career.
“With everything at stake here and how the weather played from hole one basically and having to adjust, I would say it’s up there.”
Schauffele made four birdies over his first 10 holes to climb up to 5-under for the championship. He then held on for dear life on the back nine—a brutal stretch of golf—as he made two bogies over his final eight holes. He sits at 3-under through 54 holes, one back of leader Billy Horschel.
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Photo by Zac Goodwin/Getty Images
Now, Schauffele has a tremendous opportunity to add another major championship, fresh off his maiden major win at the PGA Championship two months ago at Valhalla.
But will that help Schauffele down the stretch on Sunday?
“If I’d have to take a guess, I imagine it’s not going to hurt me,” Schauffele said.
“If I’m in that spot with a few holes to play, I think I can maybe lean on that. It’s just such a different style of golf. It’s such a different tournament. That’s the great thing about these majors. They’re very different, and it’s an honor to try to win them.”
Schauffele will no doubt lean on his experience, but he can rely on his exquisite play from tee to green just as much. He hit the ball beautifully on Saturday, ranking 10th in overall strokes gained during round three. That number may not sound that impressive, but considering the afternoon wave dealt with near-impossible conditions, it’s a solid attribute nonetheless.
“I enjoy the challenge,” Schauffele added.
“Everyone has parts of their job that they don’t like across the board. So I’m lucky. I’m still outside. I know it’s raining, but it’s a really nice thing for me to do, just try to test myself, and today was that.”
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.
