Xander Schauffele and the rest of the field entered Sunday’s final round at the FedEx St. Jude Championship in need of some magic if they wanted to track down Hideki Matsuyama.
The Japanese star took a five shot lead into the final round, with Nick Dunlap being the closest competitor. Schauffele, on the other hand, was nine shots off the pace. He needed a fantastic final round and a wild collapse from Matsuyama to have any chance. He nearly got his wish.
Matsuyama bogeyed 12 and 14, then doubled 15. Meanwhile, Schauffele was having an excellent round, posting a 7-under through 17. Suddenly, the reigning Open Championship winner was standing on the 18th tee tied with Matsuyama.
Unfortunately for Schauffele, Matsuyama found his composure and went on to birdie the final two holes to win by a couple strokes.
Nevertheless, Schauffele was in good spirits following his round.
“Happy, obviously, with how I played today. Can't complain,” Schauffele said. “I thought 61 would be pretty cool. I think 61s are cool, period, I don't care if you're playing a muni. Like I said, I'm not sitting here complaining. I'm happy with how I played.”
As it turned out, a 61 is exactly what Schauffele would have needed to force a playoff. Instead, he had to settle for a tie for second place with Viktor Hovland.
“I'm happy I was able to overcome some demons on this property and shoot a nice number here.”
Indeed, Schauffele had previously struggled at the St. Jude Championship. He has one top-10 to his credit with a number of finishes outside the top 40.
Xander Schauffele peaking at right time
Despite falling just short at the FedEx St. Jude Championship, Schauffele's season remained red hot. The second place finish has him sitting second in the FedEx Cup Standings with 5,037 points. Scottie Scheffler, fresh off his Olympic gold medal, still leads with 6,533 points.
Matsuyama, with the win, climbed into third.
Schauffele has already won two majors this year. He broke through at the PGA Championship in May, then won The Open last month. He also boasts 13 top-10s in 2024 and has made the cut in all 19 of his events. The level of consistency is fantastic, but has been overshadowed by Scheffler’s historic season.
Yet, Schauffele is firmly inside the top 50 needed to advance in the FedEx Cup Playoffs. He will turn his attention to the BMW Championship this weekend, with his sights set on the ultimate prize of winning the PGA Tour Championship in two weeks.
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