CASTLE ROCK — Xander Schauffele made a splash early in the third round of the BMW Championship.
But not the good kind.
The world’s No. 2-ranked golfer banged his second shot off the wall of a pond that guards the green on the third hole. Wet and wild was not what he had planned.
Then his bogey putt rimmed out. His double bogey put him at 1-over for the tournament. Not exactly the start he wanted on Saturday — moving day on the PGA Tour.
“I kind of got gusted, I think, on three,” Schauffele said, referring to the wind that blew across Castle Pines Golf Club. “I hit an 8-iron that … got like 25 yards of hurt, which we haven’t had all week.
“I kind of was posing (after his swing), and it was a little embarrassing for that thing to hit the wall and go in the water 20 yards off (the green). I felt like I had to dig deep in my little patience bucket that’s running thin this late in the year on a Saturday.”
But Schauffele persisted, birdied seven of his last 12 holes, and shot a 5-under 67, the day’s second best score behind Max Greyserman. That left him at 7-under for the tournament, tied for fifth with Colorado native Wyndham Clark heading into Sunday’s final round. They sit five strokes behind leader Keegan Bradley.
While Schauffele moved in one direction, Adam Scott went in another.
After shooting a 9-under, course-record 63 on Friday to stake a three-shot lead, the Australian shot 74 on Saturday to slide back to the field. He sits in second, one stroke behind Bradley.
Scott shot a 4-over 40 on the front side but birdied the 11th, 16th and 17th to salvage his round.
“I really struggled mostly on the greens today,” he said. “They were just so different from yesterday’s round, speed-wise and firmness and look and everything.
“It felt like I was on a different course almost, and I just battled that most of the round. The good shots I hit, I didn’t really get the reward. I’m in a good spot at the end of it to be one back.”
Clark was the other big mover and shaker on Saturday, scoring an eagle on the Par-5 17th hole as the hometown gallery went wild.
“I have not played that hole well,” he said. “It’s a pretty easy hole, and everyone is torching the par-5s except for me. I finally hit the fairway and then we hit the green. Our goal was to just kind of put it in a spot where we could make birdie. Obviously, an eagle is a bonus.”
Sweden’s Ludvig Åberg, who shot a 63 on Friday, found Castle Pines to be a different animal on Saturday, and he shot a 1-under 71, leaving him two shots behind Bradley.
“It was hard. It was sneaky hard. The wind was tricky,” he said. “Obviously, those first couple of holes were straight into (the wind), so they played very different from what they played yesterday.
“Plus the greens were firmer today, as well, from not having that much rain. It was tricky, and you could see that on the scores today, but I felt like we hung in there quite well.”
Schauffele, in particular. Though his patience was tested early, he’s learned how to deal with the tide of negative emotions. That’s how he won the PGA and The Open championships earlier this season.
“I just feel this thing rising in me that I don’t want to forcefully push down, but you can kind of tell when you’re being tested out here,” he said. “When you’re playing really good golf, things go your way, and it’s easy to brush off bad things.
“When you’re trying to sort of force it a little bit and things aren’t going your way, then it gets frustrating, and then when you start playing good golf and hitting good shots and you hit it in the water … you’ve got to dig deep sometimes.”
Want more sports news? Sign up for the Sports Omelette to get all our analysis on Denver’s teams.
Originally Published: August 24, 2024 at 6:50 p.m.
