Xander Schauffele, Rory McIlroy set for Sunday showdown at Wells Fargo Championship

Playing in the final group alongside a bomb-throwing McIlroy — who carded his second-straight bogey-free 67 — Schauffele dug deep to hold his own. The no. 4 player in the world, who began Saturday four strokes ahead, often found himself in the bunkers, especially on the back-nine.

On a handful of occasions, Schauffele faced a potential two-shot swing, as McIlroy sat on the green while he was still working his way there. Schauffele stayed composed, though, and limited the damage with steady work on and around the greens. Xander ranks second in SG: Approach-the-Green for the tournament.

Not long after a hard-charging McIlroy set the patrons off with birdies on no. 9 and 10, Schauffele bogeyed no. 12. McIlroy then capitalized on the momentum with a birdie on no. 14, but Schauffele banged in a long birdie putt to maintain his one-stroke advantage.

“I’m going to have to earn it tomorrow,” said Schauffele. “I’ve got Rory breathing down my neck. I think if I strike the ball the way I did today off the tee and just a little more focus coming into the greens, picking the spots and then going through my process a little better, should be in a good shape.”

McIlroy — inevitably competing with a chip on his shoulder — is a three-time winner at Quail Hollow. Once again, he took advantage of Quail Hollow’s exhaustive length with his unmatched power. He piped 10 tee shots over 320 yards on Saturday, including five over 340 yards.

“To play two rounds in a row on this golf course in these conditions bogey-free is a bit of a feather in my cap, I’m pretty proud of that,” said the no. 2 player in the world.

McIlroy earned his 25th career PGA Tour victory two weeks ago, teaming up with Shane Lowry at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans.

The Wells Fargo Championship is the PGA Tour’s sixth Signature Event of the 2024 season. The winner will take home $3.6 million of the $20 million pursue and 700 FedEx Cup points.

Outside of world no. 1 Scottie Scheffler (sitting out this week), Schauffele has been the most consistent player on the PGA Tour over the past year-plus. In 2024, he has seven top-10 finishes and ranks third in total strokes gained.

Schauffele, a seven-time winner on the PGA Tour, will seek his first major victory at next week’s PGA Championship at Valhalla. His last trophy on the PGA Tour came at the Genesis Scottish Open in July 2022.

Schauffele was in the final group on Sunday at Quail Hollow last year, too. He Schauffele carded a 1-under 70 and finished four strokes back of Wyndham Clark.

McIlroy and Schauffele will tee off at 1:45 p.m. ET on Sunday.