Xander Schauffele insists his game plan at the PGA Championship on Sunday will not be any different to normal – despite the American standing on the precipice of a first Major title.
Schauffele and Collin Morikawa lead a tightly-bunched leaderboard at Valhalla on 15-under, with Morikawa hunting a second PGA Championship and a third Major overall.
Schauffele opened up the week with a superb 62 before chaining together consecutive rounds of 68 to put himself in a strong position at Valhalla. It could have been even better, too, if not for a double bogey on the 15th on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Morikawa – who won the 2020 PGA Championship at TPC Harding Park for his first Major – has gone 66-65-67 and appears well capable of going low once more.
But the pressure is likely to be felt more intensely by Schauffele on Sunday given the 30-year-old has not lifted a trophy since July 2022, despite being in several excellent positions to end that run – most recently at the Wells Fargo Championship and before that, the Genesis Invitational.
(Image credit: Getty Images)
The San Diego-born golfer held a one-stroke advantage over Rory McIlroy at Quail Hollow earlier this month but ultimately fell by five. Schauffele also trailed close friend Patrick Cantlay by two at Riviera prior to both fading badly as Hideki Matsuyama stormed to victory.
Far from promising he will correct past mistakes and use learned lessons on a day where a low score is likely to be required in order to reign supreme, Schauffele says he will stick to his tried-and-tested game plan.
Asked how he will approach Sunday, Schauffele said: “Just like any other tournament for the most part. It’s another Sunday. I typically love Sundays. I think I need to really just stay in my lane and do a lot of what I’ve been doing and just worry about myself.
“I mean, I said it yesterday… it’s funny, so there’s blood in the water. Everyone kind of laughed, and then Shane Lowry almost shot 61 today. Yeah, I imagine someone in that threshold now that it’s been done twice is going to shoot something low and post a number early. I imagine that’s going to happen. Like I said, just staying in my lane is what’s going to make me play well.”
Schauffele was later asked about what it would mean for him to make a long-awaited return to the winner’s circle…
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