Live blog: WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play Draw

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FORT WORTH, Texas — The quiet of Colonial made Xander Schauffele feel as though he were back home in San Diego playing with his friends. In this case, his buddies happen to be some of the biggest stars in golf. Schauffele made a 12-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole Saturday to break out of a six-way share of the lead with a 4-under 66, giving him one-shot lead over an all-star cast going into a final round of the Charles Schwab Challenge. RELATED: Leaderboard | ‘Who’s who’ leaderboard heading into weekend at Colonial Jordan Spieth took only 10 putts on the front nine and had the lead until he didn’t hit the 15th green from 81 yards away, leading to bogey. He had a 68 and was in a chasing pack that featured Justin Thomas, U.S. Open champion Gary Woodland, Collin Morikawa and Branden Grace. The PGA TOUR returned after three months because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and it didn’t take long to show its fan base just what it was missing. Fourteen players were separated by three shots, including Rory McIlroy, Justin Rose and Patrick Reed, who made the cut with one shot to spare and shot 63 to give him a chance. Golf fans should be in for a treat — in front of the TV, anyway. Colonial is the first of five tournaments in the return to golf that doesn’t allow spectators. Players have had three days to adjust to the lack of sound. Sunday is different, everyone trying to generate their own momentum without the energy typically delivered from outside the ropes. Schauffele was at 13-under 197. Woodland birdied his last two holes for a 66 and will play with his Presidents Cup teammate in the final group. Right behind will be Thomas, the former PGA champion and world No. 1, who went 11 holes without making a birdie in good scoring condition until two over the final five holes in a 66 that put him right in the mix. He played alongside Grace, who also had a 66. Spieth passed a big test. Stuck in a slump, he had five tournaments last season when he started with two rounds in the 60s and was left behind when he couldn’t break par on Saturday. There were a few anxious moments for him, such as an iron off the fifth tee that would have finished on the practice range if not for a fence in place for the tournament. He got up-and-down from short of the green to escape with birdie. His next tee shot was right and banged off a cart — one the loudest sounds of the day — leaving him blocked by a tree. He punched it low into a back bunker and saved par. But he didn’t make a birdie over the final nine holes, and the 15th cost him when his lob wedge came up short. No matter. He was one off the lead, and his tie for second is his best 54-hole position since the Colonial last year. He shot 72 in the final round and tied for eighth. Harold Varner III, still looking for his first PGA TOUR victory, started with a one-shot lead and birdied the opening hole. That was his last birdie. Varner couldn’t get putts to fall, including two birdie chances inside 8 feet toward the end. He had to settle for a 70, but was still only two shots behind. Looking up at Schauffele is not the issue. It’s looking around at everyone else. McIlroy and Bryson DeChambeau, were among the players who went into Sunday with a realistic chance. The field was the strongest Colonial has seen, not surprising because so many players stuck at home for the last three months were eager for competition. And this week has made clear that so many of them came to play.

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Tiger Woods will return to PGA TOUR action for the first time in four months after the 82-time winner committed to next week’s the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide in Columbus, Ohio. Woods, a five-time winner of the Memorial Tournament, joins the field at Muirfield Village for his first official PGA TOUR event since he hosted the Genesis Invitational in Los Angeles at Riviera Country Club in February. It will also mark Woods’ first start since the COVID-19 pandemic began shortly thereafter. Chasing a record 83rd TOUR win to break out of a tie with Sam Snead atop the all-time wins list, Woods was last seen in action at Capital One’s The Match: Champions for Charity on May 24, when he and former NFL quarterback Peyton Manning beat Phil Mickelson and Tom Brady at Medalist Golf Club. Woods has played at Muirfield Village 17 times in his career, winning the tournament in 1999, 2000, 2001, 2009 and 2012. He has never missed the cut at Muirfield and has further top 10 finishes in 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2019. Woods was also a member of the U.S. Presidents Cup team that won at Muirfield Village in 2013. Clearly he likes the place that Jack (Nicklaus) built. “I’ve always enjoyed Muirfield. I’ve always tried to play at Jack’s events. What he’s meant to the TOUR and he’s meant to all of us has players, I’ve always tried to support his events and I just happened to play well on his golf courses too,” Woods said in 2018. “Whether it’s here or most of the Nicklaus Design courses that we play, I seem to play them well. But this one in particular is very special to him, it’s very special to us as players. Obviously because of what he’s done to the golf course, but more so what he’s meant to us as players.” Currently Woods sits 41st in the FedExCup and 14th in the world rankings. He got the 2019-20 PGA TOUR season off to a roaring start with a victory at the inaugural ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP in Japan last October. As playing captain, he led the U.S. to a come-from-behind win at the Presidents Cup at Royal Melbourne in December. He tied for ninth at the Farmers Insurance Open on one of his favorite courses, Torrey Pines. Woods, 44, then struggled on the weekend at the Genesis to finish 68th, and later revealed that he was having mobility issues with his surgically fused back. He skipped The Honda Classic and did not play the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard, another of his favorite events. He also didn’t feel well enough for THE PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass, where he is a two-time champion. That event was eventually canceled after the first round due to the coronavirus pandemic. Now, though, Woods is ready to go again. The pandemic hit the pause button on the season and has given Woods time to get well physically. He looked like his old self at The Match at Medalist, his home course, as he hit fairways and led his team to victory.

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