Xander Schauffele hits from the second tee during the final round of The Players Championship golf tournament, Sunday, March 15, 2026, in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
I can’t seem to quit Xander this week, so I’ll be following the grouping of Xander Schauffele and Patrick Fishburn.
Xander Schauffele is coming off a solo 3rd finish at The Players Championship and looking to continue building momentum. In his press conference on Tuesday, he talked about needing to make more putts this week. That should be something that is a bit easier at Innisbrook, as their greens play a bit easier than those at TPC Sawgrass and Bay Hill. Xander is currently 7th in the Official World Golf Rankings and looking to make a jump at a place where his worst finish is T12. He is coming off a first day where he shot -3 and sat 4 off the lead at the end of the day. With the leaders currently at -8, he has some work to do, but doesn’t feel far off. It was more of the same for Xander yesterday as he just couldn’t get the putter hot. After a Friday that started strong but ended poorly, Schauffele will look to put himself in striking position on moving day. After a rather uninspiring moving day yesterday, Xander is playing for placement now. He had two birdies and a double bogey on the card yesterday, so there wasn’t much going on for Xander either way. He will try to play his way into T12 or better to keep his hot streak at Innisbrook going.
For Patrick Fishburn this week, he got off to a hot start on Thursday, firing a 68, 3 under par. After Friday, much like Schauffele, he has been unable to get it going again. He shot an even par 71 on Friday and a 1 over par 72 on Saturday. He is looking to build some momentum today that will hopefully carry forward through the rest of his season. So far, he has only played 4 events this year, missing the cut at 3 of them. His lone made cut was at the Cognizant Classic, where he finished T40. He has put himself in a good position going into Sunday, but needs a good day to help him out going forward.
Round 4:
Hole 1: Par 5
Xander: Drive found the middle of the fairway. He reached the green in 2, then left his eagle putt short. He was clearly playing for birdie, and he got it effortlessly.
Fishburn: Didn’t see the tee shot, but he had to layup with his second shot. His third shot missed to the right, but was able to get it up-and-down for par.
Through 1: Xander today -1 tournament -3, Fishburn today E tournament -2
Hole 2: Par 4
Xander: He was able to find the green in 2 shots and then got the birdie putt to go. It could be a good day for Xander, but he has played the first few holes well this week and hasn’t been able to carry it through the round. Hopefully, today changes that trend.
Fishburn: He is having to work for them, but he is able to escape the second with a par also.
Through 2: Xander today -2 tournament -4, Fishburn today E tournament -2
I apologize, I had to break for a bit, but I will give a quick catch-up.
Hole 3: Par 4
Xander: Fairway, Green, Birdie yet again. Scorching hot start for Schauffele.
Fishburn: His luck of scrambling to make pars runs out here. He missed the green to the right with his second shot and 2 putts for bogey.
Xander: Hits the green inside of 20 feet. For some reason, he decided these were going to be automatic today because he got it to fall for 4 straight birdies to start.
Fishburn: Gets a par here to move his round along.
Xander:He hit the left side of the fairway. Then went long with his second shot, and after a good chip, he gave himself a chance at birdie, but could not get it to fall. He tried to tap in his par and missed it. That might bring his early momentum to a halt. Bogey on 5.
Fishburn: Plugged in the fairway bunker, so he had to take a drop back on a line. The hole did not get better from there as he found the greenside bunker soon thereafter, and once he made the green, 2 putted for double bogey. Really tough hole for this grouping.
