Xander Schauffele bounces back after costly blunder to share PGA Championship lead

Xander Schauffele stood on the 15th fairway at Valhalla with a 9-iron in hand, a little confused by the direction of the wind.

He and caddy Austin Kaiser decided the swirling wind was hurting them. So Schauffele and Kaiser decided to hit a low draw in this back left hole position.

This decision backfired.

When Schauffele pulled it, his ball landed in nasty thick fescue across the green next to the gallery.

A creek also flows to the right of this green, making it even more difficult. So not only did Schauffele face a terrifying lie on his third shot, he also knew that if he overswung, disaster loomed.

Yet disaster still occurred.

Schauffele’s third shot was about 5 feet and landed in light rough. But he couldn’t get up or down to recover from his bogey. Instead, he hit a double, instantly regaining the two-shot lead he held at the time.

“If there wasn’t a hazard on the green, I probably would have swung harder,” Schauffele explained.

“I knew I was going to die. I just didn’t feel like working on it. If I could go back, I obviously would have hit it harder.”

While Schauffele was struggling, his partner Collin Morikawa made a birdie on the 15th hole, giving him a three-stroke lead within minutes.

But rather than struggle over the final three holes, Schauffele bounced back with a vengeance. He eased his nerves by making par on the 16th. Then on No. 17, he hit a pitching wedge several feet from 137 yards for birdie.

He and Morikawa then walked to the par-5 18th, the easiest hole on the course, and were tied at the top of the leaderboard at 14 under.

Both players then made the usual birdies to close out the third round.

They will enter Sunday’s final round of the PGA Championship at 15 under, holding a one-stroke lead over Sahis Segala.

“Of course I want to lead,” Schauffele said of his mindset heading into Sunday.

Photo by Darren Carroll/PGA of America (via Getty Images)

“You want to take as many shots as possible against these guys, no matter how nervous they are.”

Valhalla created a record low scoring situation, and Schauffele was able to take advantage of that. He opened the tournament on Saturday with a 9-under 62, matching the record set by Shane Lowry.

“There’s blood in the water. Everyone kind of laughed, and Shane Lowry almost shot a 61. [Saturday]” Schauffele said.

“I would imagine that someone who reached that standard would shoot low and post numbers early because it has been done twice now. I imagine that would be the case. As I said earlier. Like, you just have to stay in your lane and play well.”

All Schauffele can do is focus on his game and try to make fewer mistakes. Bogeys hurt, but players can recover from them. The same cannot be said for double bogey.

Still, Schauffele, aiming for his first major win on Sunday, somehow bounced back after making his biggest blunder of the week.

“All I can focus on is hitting good golf shots and making good putts,” Schauffele added.

“At the end of the day, wherever the cards fall, the cards fall. [But winning] That would obviously mean a lot.”

Jack Mirko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through.Be sure to check it out @_PlayingThrough Cover more golf. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko In the same way.