The Colonial quiet made Xander Schauffele feel as though he were back home in San Diego playing with his friends. In this case, his buddies happen to be some of the biggest stars in golf.
Schauffele made a 12-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole Saturday, breaking a six-player tie for the lead, and finished with a 4-under 66. He'll begin Sunday's final round of the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial in Fort Worth, Texas, with a one-stroke lead. Schauffele was at 13-under 197.
"I don't have like a huge effect on the crowd, I'd say, so not having fans isn't the craziest thing to me," Schauffele said. "It's quiet. You make three birdies in a row, you can kind of give yourself a pat on the back."
Jordan Spieth took only 10 putts on the front nine and shot a 68, leaving him in a crowd in second place featuring Justin Thomas (66), U.S. Open champion Gary Woodland (66), Collin Morikawa (67) and Branden Grace (66).
The PGA Tour returned, without spectators on the course, after three months off because of the pandemic, and it didn't take long to show its fan base what it was missing.
Fourteen players were separated by three shots, including Rory McIlroy, Justin Rose and Patrick Reed, who made the cut with one shot to spare and shot a 63 to get in contention.
Harold Varner III, still looking for his first PGA Tour victory, started with a one-shot lead and birdied the opening hole. That was his last birdie. He shot a 70 and was two strokes behind.
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