Xander Schauffele, in October of 2018, won the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions. A little over two months later, at the start of 2019, he won the Tournament of Champions. In 42 tournaments since, he’s missed four cuts. He’s finished in the top 10 16 times. He’s finished in the top five 11 times, including his past two tournaments.
He’s won zero times.
Schauffele’s drought may not be as pronounced as, say, Jordan Spieth’s. The former world No. 1’s winds back to the 2017 Open Championship. But Schauffele’s just as thirsty.
“A lot,” Schauffele said Saturday when asked what a win at this week’s Waste Management Phoenix Open would mean. “I think just a sense of accomplishment, relief. You know, it’s good. This is sort of what I needed to do. I’ve been talking about how consistent I’ve been playing, and I just need to put myself in this position more often.
“So I’m excited.”
On Sunday, Schauffele and Spieth will stand side-by-side as they seek to stop their skids. They share the lead at 18 under entering the final round and will tee off last, at 1:20 p.m. ET, along with Scottie Scheffler, who’s three shots back. Also at 15 under is Kyoung-Hoon Lee, and he will tee off second-to-last, at 1:09 p.m., along with Justin Thomas and Louis Oosthuizen, who are both 14 under.
“I think it’ll be fun,” Schauffele said of his grouping with Spieth. “We’re both trying to do the same thing. We both have a lot to prove. He’s accomplished so much in his career. I’m still trying to push forward and do kind of what he’s done in a short time.
“I think it’s cool that we’ll be hashing it out tomorrow.”
The fourth-round tee times are below. Golf Channel will broadcast the tournament from 1-3 p.m. ET, and NBC will continue the coverage starting at 3.
Waste Management Phoenix Open Round 4 tee times (All times ET)
Tee No. 1
11:30 a.m. — Nick Hardy, Max Homa, Emiliano Grillo
11:41 a.m. — Matt Jones, Russell Knox, Grayson Murray
11:52 a.m. — Corey Conners, Billy Horschel, Sam Burns
12:03 p.m. — Carlos Ortiz, Kevin Streelman, Cameron Tringale
12:14 p.m. — Russell Henley, Harold Varner III, Patton Kizzire
12:25 p.m. — Jon Rahm, Scott Stallings, Andrew Putnam
12:36 p.m. — Brendon Todd, Matthew NeSmith, Nate Lashley
12:47 p.m. — Will Zalatoris, J.T. Poston, Keegan Bradley
12:58 p.m. — James Hahn, Brooks Koepka, Steve Stricker
1:09 p.m. — Kyoung-Hoon Lee, Louis Oosthuizen, Justin Thomas
1:20 p.m. — Jordan Spieth, Xander Schauffele, Scottie Scheffler
Tee No. 10
11:30 a.m. — Henrik Norlander, Wyndham Clark, Si Woo Kim
11:41 a.m. — Brendan Steele, Rory McIlroy, Mark Hubbard
11:52 a.m. — Webb Simpson, Hideki Matsuyama, Bo Van Pelt
12:03 p.m. — Zach Johnson, Luke List, Sungjae Im
12:14 p.m. — Satoshi Kodaira, Ted Potter, Jr., Robby Shelton
12:25 p.m. — Byeong Hun An, Kyle Stanley, Matthew Wolff
12:36 p.m. — Bubba Watson, Brian Harman, Sam Ryder
12:47 p.m. — Matt Kuchar, Lucas Glover, Davis Riley
12:58 p.m. — Ryan Palmer, Richy Werenski, Bo Hoag
1:09 p.m. — Adam Hadwin, Brian Stuard, Stewart Cink
1:20 p.m. — Michael Kim, Aaron Wise, Xinjun Zhang
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