By the end of Monday’s final round at the Tour Championship, Labor Day proved plenty laborious for Xander Schauffele.
He was up against a mountain of a man in Dustin Johnson, a player who has regained his world-class form and even found an extra gear. He was challenging East Lake Golf Club, which at times made superstars like Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm look foolish with its gorgeous, tantalizing fairways and extreme rough.
And Schauffele, who finished as the runner-up at this event last year, was also getting work done on a blister that was stinging through the fourth and final round.
In the end, it was too much, slowing each and every attempt to catch Johnson, and although a solid 66 proved good enough for another silver medal, it kept Schauffele from the winner’s circle yet again.
Tour Championship: Scores | Money list | Winner’s bag
“I tried,” Schauffele said of his effort, which saw him close in on Johnson when the leader posted a pair of bogeys on Nos. 7 and 8 before facing a tricky 7-foot par effort. “He had a really important par putt on 9, which he made, which isn’t surprising, and I just wasn’t able to put enough pressure on him. I birdied, whatever it was, 11 and 12, and then I bogeyed 13 and then he parred.
“That was a big swing. He’s here to win the tournament. He made that putt, which I didn’t. That was a pinnacle moment I think.”
Schauffele still has plenty to show for his week in Atlanta, scoring a $4.5 million payout for his efforts.
Still, he had his chances, just like he did last year before losing out to Rory McIlroy. Schauffele said the short grass was a necessity this week — even more than previous tournaments — and his failure to hit it in the late stages kept him from having any chance.
“You can only be as aggressive as your tee shot this week. (On) 18, for me to have any sort of chance of tying the tournament, I had to hit it in the fairway and I didn’t,” he said. “I’m hitting there with a 9-iron in my hand while he can go for the green. It’s that sort of week. It was different than weeks prior where you could run shots up on the green or get away with a bad tee shot, but this week was pretty brutal in terms of trying to be aggressive out of the rough.”
[vertical-gallery id=778064664]
Although he made a valiant run and came up short yet again, this time under a new scoring system that gave Johnson an edge on the field heading into the event, don’t expect Schauffele to belittle the current set of rules, or DJ’s ability to win with them.
“He deserves to win,” said Schauffele, who insisted a blister on his hand didn’t cause much concern, although he did need it attended to. “(DJ) won the first one, tied first in the second, and I don’t know where he finished here, but he obviously is playing great golf, and I think that’s what the playoffs is all about.”
[jwplayer 7NBaZ2A0-9JtFt04J]
[lawrence-related id=778064686,778064952,778064979,778064791]