Xander Schauffele called Saturday’s grouping with Rickie Fowler an “awesome” one, then backed it up with a 4-under third round at the PGA Championship. The 2024 champion sat at 3-under after 54 holes, two shots behind leader Alex Smalley, after a day that felt much cleaner than the first two rounds.
“I mean, on Saturday you're just chasing,” Schauffele said after the round. “It was awesome playing Rickie. He plays really fast and very positive.”
Schauffele and Fowler had gotten to know each other a little better in Jupiter, and that familiarity showed in a pairing the World No. 11 described as “incredible” for a Saturday. Fowler, meanwhile, finished the round at 1-under for the major after making no bogeys, posting two birdies and all pars in a tidy display that kept pace with the pressure around them.
“He played great, too, didn't make a bogey,” Schauffele said. “So it was nice playing with a guy who made two birdies and all pars is usually a nice thing to watch.”
For Schauffele, the move up the board came after Friday’s bounce back from a 73, and he said the difference was in the ball-striking. “Yeah, definitely, nice to be back in touch in a major,” he said. “Played way better, yeah. Hit better tee shots, hit better iron shots.”
The turnaround mattered because Aronimink had played as one of the toughest tests of the week, with the leaderboard still tightly packed and the first two rounds described as incredibly difficult. Schauffele said the pin locations early in the tournament made scoring a chore, calling them “pretty diabolical” and adding that the setup was “tricky” and maybe even “quirky.”
That made his Saturday charge more valuable than the number alone suggested. The former champion was not just moving closer to the lead; he was doing it on a course that had already forced most of the field into survival mode, and with a familiar rival beside him in Fowler. Schauffele’s late-week surge now puts him in striking distance heading into the final round, while Smalley holds the lead and the pressure of protecting it.
