“There’s only one way to get him”: Xander Schauffele sets his eyes on Scottie Scheffler, chasing win at East Lake
The competition between Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele at the 2024 Tour Championship is heating up as Schauffele, who's in third place leaderboard, chases World No. 1, who is currently top of the standings. After two rounds at the East Lake tournament, Scheffler’s score is 21-under while Schauffele's score is 16-under, 5 shots behind Scheffler.
After the second round, Xander Schauffele joined a press conference and expressed the pressure at the Tour Championship. Highlighting the nature of the course, Schauffele said that Scottie Scheffler has been excelling at such greens all year and that's what is needed to nail the game. Schauffele said (via "ASAP Sports"):
“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. I know he's not going to let up, so there's only one way to get him,” Xander Schauffele said ( ASAP Sports).
"It's really up to him, to be honest. 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.
For the third round, Scottie Scheffler will tee off at 2:55 pm with Collin Morikawa. On the other hand, Xander Schauffele will start at 2:44 pm ET with Sahith Theegala.
How did Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele perform in the first two rounds of the Tour Championship?
In the opening round, Scottie Scheffler bogeyed the opening hole and carded two birdies on the front nine. On the back nine, the World No. 1 dropped five birdies from holes 12 to 14 and then from holes 17 to 18. His score after the end of the round was 65. In the following round, Scheffler made three birdies on the front nine and three birdies along with a bogey on the back nine to finish at 66. His total score stood at 21-under.
Xander Schauffele, who's third on the Tour Championship leaderboard is at 16-under. In the opening round, he scored one birdie on hole 1, followed by another on hole 6. Then, he bogeyed the 11th and 16th holes and a birdie on the 14th to finish at 70. In the second round, Schauffele made four birdies on holes 3, 4, 6 and 8. Then, he made three more birdies on holes 11, 14, and 18 to finish with a score of 64.