Dustin Johnson and Jordan Spieth are golf giants with contrasting styles

KAWAGOE, Japan — Xander Schauffele didn’t have a lot go his way until finishing on a strong note Saturday, a superb shot to 3 feet for birdie that left him 18 holes away from an Olympic gold medal. The podium still felt like a long way off. RELATED: Leaderboard, tee times | How the format works | Inside the Field: WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational Five players had a share of the lead at some point in the third round. Schauffele, Japanese star Hideki Matsuyama and Carlos Ortiz of Mexico were still tied playing the 18th hole at Kasumigaseki Country Club. Schauffele, who spent much of his round in the bunkers and dense rough, managed to end the day with a one-shot lead, in the same spot he started. From the fairway — foreign turf for him on this day — he hit a 9-iron that landed softly just belong the cup. The birdie gave him a 3-under 68. He’s at 14-under 199. Right there with him was Matsuyama, the Masters champion on whom Japan has pinned its hopes on a gold medal. He was recovering from COVID-19 just under a month ago and said he never would have guessed being in this position. Matsuyama had a 67 and will be in the final group along with Paul Casey, who shot a 66 in his bid to keep the Olympic gold medal in golf with Britain. He was two shots behind along with Ortiz, who made bogey from the bunker on the 18th hole. Saturday had all the trappings of a shootout, with eight players separated by a mere three shots. That’s not unusual at golf’s highest level, except only three walk away with a medal. Matsuyama and Schauffele played in the final group at the Masters. Matsuyama started with a four-shot lead and Schauffele, whose mother was raised in Japan, made a late charge that ended with a tee shot into the water on the par-3 16th. “I’m sure Xander will come out determined to win the gold medal tomorrow,” Matsuyama said. Matsuyama finished off the rain-delayed second round in the morning with a 64 to get into the final group. He caught up to the lead with a bunker shot to short range for birdie on the 17th, and had to save par from the rough on the last hole. Could he have envisioned this when he was recovering at home? “I definitely would not have believed it,” Matsuyama said, adding that he would have been most concerned with his endurance. That tested the entire 60-man field in stifling heat with only an occasional zephyr to circulate some air on the tree-lined course. Thomas Bach, the International Olympic Committee president, joined PGA TOUR Commissioner Jay Monahan under a tent next to the first tee to watch the final group start. Even with no spectators, Matsuyama still attracted some 250 people, most of them volunteers, all of them hanging on every shot by Matsuyama. “It does not feel like we don’t have fans out here,” Matsuyama said. Action came from every corner of Kasumigaseki. Rory McIlroy, indifferent about the Olympics until he arrived in Tokyo and already looking forward to Paris in 2024, made an early move until he was slowed by a poor pitch that kept him from birdie on the par-5 14th and a three-putt bogey on the 16th hole. He bounced back with a birdie and finished with a 67. McIlroy was three shots behind, along with Sebastian Munoz of Colombia (66), Mito Pereira of Chile (68) and Sepp Straka of Austria (68). All were very much in the mix for gold. Others were still hopeful of any medal, a list that suddenly includes Sungjae Im. The 23-year-old South Korean needs an Olympic medal to earn an exemption from mandatory military service, though this isn’t his last chance. Im was 12 shots out of the lead and was the third player this week to match the Olympic record with a 63. He was still seven behind, though another big round could keep him in bronze range. Schauffele has been trying to treat this as any other tournament, and it felt like one Saturday. “Tomorrow may feel a little different,” he said. “There’s a little bit more on the line than what we normally play for, and you’re obviously trying to represent your country to the best of your ability. So that’s why I’ll be on the range tonight.” His swing was out of sorts from the start, and his father, Stefan, kept a monocular to his right eye and could see flaws that weren’t there during his warm-up session, most of the shots to the left. Schauffele delivered key par putts, and a pair of birdies on the easier scoring holes, to keep the round and the lead from getting away from him. He was in trouble on the ninth, in the trees off the tees and having to lay up to the fairway. He escaped with par by making a 25-foot putt. “Your putter doesn’t know how bad you’re swinging it,” Schauffele said. “We’re getting it done right now. So I would like tomorrow to be a little bit more fun all round.”

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PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – Given that THE PLAYERS Championship is “our Super Bowl,� said PGA TOUR Commissioner Jay Monahan, the decision to cancel the event Thursday night was not made lightly. But Monahan said on Friday that he has no doubt it was the proper call, as the world deals with the coronavirus pandemic. The PGA TOUR not only canceled THE PLAYERS Championship (which had played one round), it also canceled the next three events on the schedule: the Valspar Championship, the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play, and the Valero Texas Open. Events on other tours also were canceled. RELATED: Official statement from TOUR | FAQ for PLAYERS ticket refunds | The Masters postponed “Our goal now is to focus on a plan for the near and long-term and maintain the strength we’ve built through our organization over the past 51 years, and I’m confident we’ll do exactly that,� Monahan said in a Friday morning news conference. Here are a few more topics the Commissioner touched on: WHAT PROMPTED THE DECISION? There were several factors, including two big ones. Some players after finishing their rounds Thursday had questions, particularly the international players in regard to the travel bans announced by President Trump. “A lot of uncertainly, trying to figure out what they do with their family, how they get home, how they get their families here,� Monahan said, adding, “There were some players that were concerned. That’s something that we took into consideration and took very seriously.� Various feedback from other players, including defending champion Rory McIlroy, also voiced concern that maybe it was not the right time to play. “The fact that everybody is questioning, or asking questions like that, is something you have to take very seriously, and we did,� Monahan said. The news that Walt Disney World and Universal theme parks in Orlando, Florida – approximately 150 miles from TPC Sawgrass – are temporarily shutting down became the final straw. “That was the final thing that we had heard that said, you know what, even though we feel like we have a safe environment and we’ve done all the right things, we can’t proceed, and it’s not right to proceed,� Monahan said.  “And when you’re doing the right thing as the litmus test, to me … those two things together were really the things that drove the decision.� Earlier in the day, the TOUR had announced it would not allow fans into TPC Sawgrass for the final three rounds but “as the situation continued to escalate and there seemed to be more unknowns, it ultimately became a matter of when, and not if, we would need to call it a day,� Monahan said. HOW DID THE TITLE SPONSORS RESPOND? “They’re fully supportive of the decision we made,� Monahan said. “They had proper input into the decision we made. And now it’s on to, how do we address and help the communities that we vacated? Hold us accountable to that because we’re going to do some great things.� One thing already being worked on at TPC Sawgrass was utilizing the food supplies for the tournament in a proper manner. The tournament is working with former FedExCup champ and local resident Billy Horschel, who is an ambassador for Feeding Northeast Florida, to put those supplies to use locally. “That’s something we’re going to do immediately,� Monahan said. WHEN WILL PLAY RESUME? That’s one of the big questions, of course. With the PGA TOUR suspending play through the Valero Texas Open, that left the Masters as the next tournament on the schedule. On Friday, Augusta National announced it would postpone the Masters until “some later date,� according to club chairman Fred Ridley. That leaves the next event on the schedule as the RBC Heritage starting the week of April 12, followed by the Zurich Classic of New Orleans and its unique team-event format. Given how fluid things are unfolding, the TOUR will continue to monitor the situation, work with necessary health and local officials, and adjust if necessary. “We need to continue to understand what’s happening on the ground in the markets where we would be returning to play, continue to work with our partners in those markets, continue to understand what’s happening with the CDC and the World Health Organization, and then ultimately that will guide our decision. We’re going to make sure that we protect the safety and well-being of all of our constituents as we make that decision.� HAVE ANY PLAYERS, CADDIES OR STAFFERS TESTED OR CONTRACTED THE VIRUS? No, said Monahan, who noted that the PGA TOUR has a business unit specifically focusing on the issue. “Right now there aren’t enough tests out there,� Monahan said. “And so the responsible things to do is to make certain that the tests are being used appropriately, and if we wanted to test everybody out here … we might be taking away from that. … “If anybody in our ecosystem – our players, our employees – anybody is feeling like they’re in any way compromised, we’d certainly recommend and help them do anything we can to help them get tested. But right now, that’s certainly not the case.� WILL THE PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP BE RESCHEDULED? Said Monahan: “It’s not a possibility. As you look into the rest of the season, tournaments in every market are well on their way towards playing their events, to fundraising. You’ve got charities just like we have here that are counting on those events. … We’re going to continue to go forward with the schedule that we’ve outlined and hopefully we can get back and play as soon as possible.� WILL THE FIELD RECEIVE PRIZE MONEY? Yes. PGA TOUR regulations stipulate that “if you complete one round of a championship, we pay 50% of the purse,� said Monahan. Although four players had yet to complete the first round, the TOUR will pay the 50%, equally distributed among the players. That means a half purse of $7.5 million for 144 players, or $52,083.33 per player. The earnings will be considered unofficial. Per rule, any player withdrawing prior to teeing off is not considered part of the field and will not be paid. WILL STATISTICS FROM THURSDAY’S FIRST ROUND BE COUNTED? No. All results will be wiped out of the record books and from players’ statistics. For instance, Hideki Matsuyama will not be credited with a course-record tying 63. THE NEXT MONTH. Even though there are no TOUR events to attend or follow, Monahan hopes that fans who play the sport will continue to be active. “Golf is the greatest game on the planet,� Monahan said. “There are a lot of people that are in this business, in this industry that make their living through this game, and I hope that everybody as they go through this uncertain time gets an opportunity to get out, play golf, be outside, support their PGA of America profession, support this game, be inspired by this game. “Of course, everybody needs to think about what’s happening in their local marketplace, but I want to make sure that not only are we inspiring the communities where we play, but hopefully people are inspired to continue to use this game to get through a challenging time, and that’s what we’re going to encourage people to do.� For more on the coronavirus disease, please visit the Center for Disease Control’s information page.

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