Schauffele remains ahead by 1 in Tournament of Champions title defense
Xander Schauffele carries a one-shot lead into the final round of the Tournament of Champions after shooting a 2-under 71 on Saturday.
The defending champion made his first bogey of the year's opening event on No. 8 but managed to regain his 36-hole lead - which was temporarily taken from him by Justin Thomas - with back-to-back birdies on No. 14 and 15.
Schauffele will look to successfully defend his title in Kapalua, Hawaii in a completely different fashion than last year's victory. In 2019, the 26-year-old fired a course-record-tying 62 on Sunday to erase a five-shot deficit and edge out Gary Woodland. This year, Schauffele will have to fend off a pack of chasers, which contains Thomas and Woodland, to secure his fifth career PGA Tour title.
Here's how the top of the leaderboard stands after Round 3:
| Place | Player | To Par | R3 Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Xander Schauffele | -11 | 71 |
| 2 | Justin Thomas | -10 | 69 |
| 3 | Gary Woodland | -8 | 69 |
| T4 | Kevin Kisner | -7 | 68 |
| T4 | Jon Rahm | -7 | 70 |
| T4 | Collin Morikawa | -7 | 70 |
| T4 | J.T. Poston | -7 | 71 |
| T4 | Matthew Wolff | -7 | 71 |
| T4 | Joaquin Niemann | -7 | 74 |
| T4 | Patrick Reed | -7 | 74 |
Kevin Kisner (7-under) matched the low round of Day 3 with a 5-under 68. He climbed from outside the top 15 into a logjam of players sharing the fourth spot. Jon Rahm and Patrick Reed are also at 7-under for the event.
Notables Rickie Fowler (6-under) and Dustin Johnson (5-under) sit outside the top 10.
The final round begins Sunday at 2:40 p.m. ET with the last group teeing off at 5:20 p.m.