Xander Schauffele fired a 7-under 64 in the second round of the Tour Championship, but all he could do was narrow Scottie Scheffler’s lead down to five shots. Now, his and other players’ fate depends on how Scheffler performs in the next two rounds.
On Friday, August 30, while Schauffele reached a 16-under aggregate after his second-round 64 at the Tour Championship, Scheffler continued his strong run with a 5-under 66, extending his lead to four shots after 36 holes.
“Yeah, it’s really up to him, to be honest,” Schauffele said during the post round interview. “I have to play out of my ‘beep’ to sniff. Being two back and then shooting 1-under yesterday and him shooting low round of the day, it’s just not the start I needed. A sense of urgency today to try and pick some up.”
“He’s probably going to birdie or have a good look at chipping in there on the last, and I may end up right where I started. Just got to keep my head down,” he added.
Xander Schauffele accepted that there was a pressure of good performance in the Friday round to not let Scheffler take a big lead.
“I played with Scottie yesterday,” he added. “So this course right now with how firm the greens are, it’s a ball-striking type deal where you have to be in the fairways and hit your number, and he’s been killing everyone at that all year. I know he’s not going to let up, so there’s only one way to get him.”
When will Xander Schauffele tee off at the Tour Championship, Round 3?
Xander Schauffele is paired with Sahith Theegala for the third round of the Tour Championship. The duo will tee off on Saturday, August 31, at 2:44 pm ET.
Following the second round, Scottie Scheffler has a four-stroke lead over Collin Morikawa, who shot 63 on Friday. Adam Scott, Theegala, and Wyndham Clark are tied for fourth at 12-under. Sam Burns shot 68 in the second round and was placed at solo seventh. Tony Finau and Hideki Matsuyama were tied for eighth at 9-under
The third round of the Tour Championship will begin at 12:11 pm ET, with Billy Horschel and Chris Kirk being the first pair to resume play on Saturday. Scheffler and Morikawa will tee off at 2:55 pm ET as the last pair to begin the third round.
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Edited by Shobhit Kukreti
