Xander Schauffele could not hold off a furious charge from Scottie Scheffler Sunday at the final round of the Players Championship in Florida.
Scheffler, the world’s top-ranked golfer, outpaced three others in the top 10, Wyndham Clark, Schauffele and Brian Harman, with a 8-under 64 Sunday for his second straight win at the tournament.
Any one of the trio, including Schauffele, a Rancho Bernardo High and San Diego State alum, had a chance to force a playoff if he could birdie the 18th hole. Instead they finished in a three-way tie for second, one stroke behind.
Schauffele led by one shot over Clark after the third round, and was five ahead of Scheffler entering Sunday’s play. Scheffler needed the best final round at the tournament in more than 20 years to take the title.
Schauffele shared the lead with two others, including Clark, after the first day, fell behind Clark in the second round, then shot a 7-under 65 on Saturday to pull ahead.
But he had a rough time on four of his final five holes Sunday to finish at 2-under-70.
“My dad told me a long time ago to commit, execute and accept. I’m swallowing a heavy dose of acceptance right now,” he told the Associated Press. “I tried to commit, I executed poorly on some shots and here I am accepting it.”
