Xander Schauffele in action (Image: undefined)
Xander Schauffele described it as “awesome” to be paired with Rickie Fowler during the third round of the PGA Championship, as he posted an impressive 4-under round.
The American, who claimed this major title in 2024, rebounded from a 73 on Friday to thrust himself firmly into contention on a tightly packed leaderboard at Aronimink.
He now sits at 3-under for the tournament, just two shots off the pace set by leader Alex Smalley. He accomplished this alongside Fowler, who sits at 1-under for the major. It comes as Justin Thomas left speechless after watching Jordan Spieth at PGA Championship
“I mean, on Saturday you’re just chasing,” said Schauffele. “It was awesome playing Rickie. He plays really fast and very positive. Just gotten to know him a little bit better in Jupiter, so incredible pairing there on a Saturday. He played great, too, didn’t make a bogey. So it was nice playing with a guy who made two birdies and all pars is usually a nice thing to watch. So all good here on a Saturday. Yeah, definitely, nice to be back in touch in a major.”
Reflecting on his round as a whole, Schauffele was upbeat heading into Sunday’s final round.
Schauffele played alongside Rickie Fowler during the third round (Image: Getty Images)
“Played way better, yeah,” said Schauffele. “Hit better tee shots, hit better iron shots. The putter kind of kept me in it yesterday and the first day, so really leaned on the flat stick to keep me alive, I’d say.
“It was just sort of nice to attach some better shots so I could have some more looks at birdie versus par.”
With the opening two rounds proving exceptionally challenging, the World No. 11 noted that the greater test lies in mental fortitude. “You know, it’s tricky,” Schauffele remarked. “I think tricky or quirky could be the correct word. I mean, man, some of those pin locations are pretty gnarly. I really hope they don’t put them there for the members on any day, because, whew, that’s — it’s a grind.
“I think discipline was the biggest thing I could think of the first two days. I mean, you have a wedge in your hand, and you’re like I’ve got to hit this to 50 feet or 40 feet, or I can make a 6 or the quickest 5 ever.”
Schauffele echoed the sentiments of Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy regarding the challenging pin placements during the opening two rounds.
“I thought the pin locations the first two days were pretty diabolical,” Schauffele said.
“Last night I actually thought I wasn’t playing very hard at all. I was just playing really bad golf. Happy to sort of make a birdie there and kind of limp in in that fashion. So it was nice to hit more quality crisp shots today and make some birdies.”
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