A bogey-free round is a difficult task at Quail Hollow, but for the second consecutive day Rory McIlroy accomplished that feat with his 4-under 67 on Saturday to reach 11 under for the tournament. That said, it wasn’t enough to catch Xander Schauffele, who did just enough with a 1-under 70 to maintain his lead at 12 under.
“Not as clean. Some sleepy wedges in there unfortunately, some really good up-and-downs, kind of a mixed bag,” Schauffele said of his round. “Definitely made it harder on myself is what it felt like from being in some good spots in the fairway.”
“I’m going to have to earn it tomorrow. I’ve got Rory breathing down my neck,” he added. “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.”
“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 McIlroy after the round. The 25-time winner on Tour, three of which came here at the Wells Fargo, praised his course knowledge for his ability to get around the property without a blemish. “I feel like there’s not a place on this golf course where I haven’t hit it from and don’t have some sort of memory of what to do.”
The two top-five players in the world have separated from the pack by a few shots as Sungjae Im (69) sits third at 8 under, with Sepp Straka (67) in fourth at 7 under and Jason Day (73) in fifth at 5 under.