Sungjae Im shoots 65, takes lead at The American Express

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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It did not take long for us to see a dominant performance in this new PGA TOUR season as Marc Leishman found his mojo in Malaysia and stormed to a five-shot win at the CIMB Classic. Welcome to the Monday Finish where we are recovering from some all-night golf watching just as 6-year-old Harvey Leishman is … although he’s lucky enough to be getting a trophy out of it. Here are five observations and insights from Leishman’s fourth PGA TOUR win. 1. Marc Leishman had a pretty good 2017-18 season – after all he made the TOUR Championship with six top-10s and was runner-up twice. But try telling that to Leishman. After winning twice the season before, the Australian now holds himself to higher standards and being winless was not part of the plan. It was not part of the psyche of his sons Harvey (6) and Ollie (5) who garner much excitement from daddy bringing home trophies. With the pressure starting to mount from his own expectations at that of his high-spirited boys, Leishman went to Asia with a little chip on his shoulder. Having played well on the Asian Swing before he had reason to be confident. He even booked his flights back from planned Christmas time in Australia through Maui with the Sentry Tournament of Champions in mind. And so when he sat on the 54-hole shared lead it was not a nervous time. He felt he belonged. And Sunday he proved his confidence was justified, blowing away the challengers in the first five holes and cruising to victory. This is a guy not afraid of the spotlight. 2. While on the proverbial spotlight … Leishman for whatever reason is still trying to convince some in the golfing world that he is elite. Whenever he gets into contention – which has been a lot for the former PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year (2009) in recent times – it appears as if people are surprised. He now has four wins on TOUR, three in his last 44 starts, but yet he continues to fly under the radar. The reason is mostly the man doesn’t crave or seek out the spotlight. He’s more than content in who he is, which is a great father, husband and golfer. There will however come a time where everyone knows his name and with play like this week it will be sooner rather than later.   3. While the trio of players who finished tied for second at TPC Kuala Lumpur failed to put any heat on Leishman on Sunday, they did prove they are going to be up-and-comers to watch this season. Emiliano Grillo was Rookie of the Year just a few years back before having a mini sophomore slump. Last season he rebounded with more consistent play before falling just short of a TOUR Championship berth. This season shapes up as another with more improvement for the Argentine. Bronson Burgoon was unable to keep the pace of his opening-round 63 going, but he did enough to pull off the second runner-up finish of his career. Burgoon popped up for a mini purple patch in the early summer last season but has eyes on being a more consistent contender. This was a good start. And then Chesson Hadley – a former winner on TOUR who was unable to match his own hype after such a great start to a career – has continued his resurgence. Seven top-10s last season left him 44th in the FedExCup. He has an early one here this season as he chases a first TOUR Championship berth. Don’t be surprised if all three make waves this season. 4. India’s Shubhankar Sharma is another name we need to acquaint ourselves with more. Last year he came from the clouds during the World Golf Championships – Mexico Championship where he threatened a major boil over before fading on the final day. But in 10 other PGA TOUR starts he failed to find the same magic. It had most of us thinking he might be a flash in the pan. But watching him closely in Malaysia it was clear he is supremely talented and is maybe still learning to harness his nerves at key moments while carrying the expectation of being India’s next sporting superstar. It should be an interesting little battle to see who gets a PGA TOUR win first … Sharma or his mate Anirban Lahiri. 5. Don’t think we didn’t notice former two-time CIMB Classic winner Justin Thomas make a final-round surge into a tie for fifth. Thomas now heads to Korea, as the defending champion, looking pretty impressive. Having lost his FedExCup title to Justin Rose last month, Thomas is rededicated to getting it back. He knows a fast start in the fall is a huge part of taking the pressure off the points list for the remainder of the season. Thomas winning early has become a habit so betting against him to keep it up might be unwise. FIVE INSIGHTS 1. Leishman was incredible on the front nine at TPC Kuala Lumpur, going 19 under on those holes for the tournament. On the opening five holes he was 14 under and twice notched up four in a row from the second through the fifth. It set the tone for his rounds and made him the man to catch, forcing others to press. 2. Leishman’s putter was incredible over the tournament. He needed just 102 putts over the four rounds as he drained almost everything. 3. Leishman moved to second in the FedExCup and 16th in the world rankings. It is his fourth PGA TOUR win in 250 starts, but third in last 44 starts. 4. Leishman’s 26-under 262 tied Justin Thomas in his 2015 victory for the lowest 72-hole total since the tournament moved to TPC Kuala Lumpur. 5. Gary Woodland (T5) notched up a third top-5 finish in the event without a win. He has now held the 54-hole lead/co-lead six times in his career and has never converted it into a victory. He previously held the 54-hole lead/co-lead at the 2011 Career Builder Challenge (lost in a playoff), 2013 The NORTHERN TRUST (T2), 2014 Farmers Insurance Open (T10), 2016 the Memorial Tournament (T4) and 2016 OHL Classic at Mayakoba (2).  

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