Schauffele relishes ‘awesome’ runner-up finish to Woods

Xander Schauffele said the sight of his name briefly topping the Masters leaderboard on Sunday paled in comparison to witnessing Tiger Woods's triumph.


“It was an awesome experience,” the 25-year-old American said. “It’s hard to really feel bad about how I played, just because I just witnessed history.

“It was really cool coming down the stretch, all the historic holes, Amen Corner, 15, 16, Tiger making the roars.

“I was trying to push myself, but I feel like I got a very full, fully filled Masters experience here in my second year.”

Schauffele, playing two groups ahead of Woods, briefly topped the leaderboard at 12-under through 14 holes.

That’s where he finished after a final-round 68 — tied with former US Open winner Dustin Johnson and three-time major winner Brooks Koepka for second place, one shot behind Woods.

It wasn’t bad for a player who started the day five shots behind 54-hole leader Francesco Molinari.

“I did have my 30 seconds in the sun with the lead and it was a really cool feeling,” said Schauffele, the 2017 US PGA Tour’s rookie of the year.

“And like I said, it just proves to my team and I that we can contend and that we can win on this property.”

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