Tour Championship: Xander Schauffele rallies, finds East Lake magic

Xander Schauffele rallied after opening round 70 to post a bogey-free 7-under 64 on Friday at the Tour Championship. It seems he is finding the magic of East Lake again.

Schauffele sits five shots back of Scottie Scheffler at 16-under overall and one back of Collin Morikawa, who shot an 8-under 63 to put him at 17-under total. Meanwhile, Scottie Scheffler did not let the weather delay phase him and shot a 5-under 66 to get to 21-under overall.

“It was nice to finish off with two big putts,” Schauffele said after his round on Friday. “Pretty dark out, so happy those two went in. It keeps the momentum from what was a pretty good round.”

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The two-time major winner started his day with two par putts but then got into a rhythm.

Schauffele made four birdies in his next seven holes to make the turn at 31 strokes. He added another birdie at the par-3 11th and the par-5 14th.

Weather rolled in and caused the PGA Tour to delay Round 2. The last few groups waited a little over an hour, but they were able to play the last few holes on Friday evening.

However, that did not affect Schauffele. He made a huge par save at the 17th to stay bogey-free. The 30-year-old made a 12-footer for birdie in the dark to finish with a big momentum boost.

Even though it was only the tournament’s second round, Schauffele knew he had to shoot a low score to keep up with Scheffler and Morikawa.

“I played with Scottie yesterday, 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,” he said. “I know he’s not going to let up, so there’s only one way to get him.”

Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images

Scheffler looked almost unstoppable Friday afternoon. He did show his human side down the stretch, but after the weather delay, the former Texas Longhorn birdied two of his final three holes.

Schauffele can only control his game and knows he must be at his best to beat the world’s No. 1 player.

“It’s really up to him, to be honest. I have to play out of my “beep” to sniff,” Schauffele said. “Being two back and then shooting 1-under yesterday and him shooting the low round of the day, it’s not the start I needed. A sense of urgency today to try and pick some up.”

The shot of the day had to be that par-putt on 17. Schauffele sank the 11-foot putt with confidence because he knew he needed it to stay within striking distance.

“I was looking bogey straight in the eye there on 17,” he explained. “I had to play a putt that broke about two feet downhill in the darkish weather. It’s not one I want to hit again, I can tell you that.”

Schauffele will play in the group ahead of Scheffler and Morikawa on Saturday. He and Sahith Theegala tee off at 2:44 p.m. ET as he looks to chip away at that five-shot lead.

Savannah Leigh Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. For more golf coverage, follow us @_PlayingThrough on all major social platforms. You can also follow her on Twitter @SportsGirlSL and Instagram @golf_girl_sl.