SAN DIEGO – Former San Diego State men's golf star Xander Schauffele recorded his third career victory on the PGA Tour Sunday after defeating Tony Finau on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff at the WGC-HSBC Champions event in Shanghai, China.
Schauffele, who was lone player in the field to shoot below over the final two rounds with cards of 69-68, drained birdies on his last two holes of regulation to tie Finau at 14-under-par 274 and force the playoff at the par-72, 7,261-yard Sheshan International Golf Club.
Not to be outdone, Schauffele also made birdie on the first playoff hole at the par-5 18th after landing his fairway shot in the middle of the green. With his victory, the 2017 PGA Tour Rookie of the Year took over the lead in the 2019 FedEx Cup standings with 594 points and moved up to No. 12 in the world rankings.
His triumph also gave the United States four wins in four World Golf Championships, joining Phil Mickelson (Mexico Championship), Bubba Watson (Dell Match Play) and Justin Thomas (Bridgestone Invitational).
During the 2018 season, Schauffele recorded seven official top-10 placements, finishing in a tie for the runner-up position at both the Players Championship and the British Open to go with a third-place tie at the BMW Championship.
In 2017, Schauffele emerged victorious at the Greenbrier Classic and the Tour Championship after tying for fifth at the U.S. Open.
A two-time PING All-West Region selection, Schauffele received All-America distinction following a stellar senior campaign at San Diego State in 2015, meriting third-team accolades from the both the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) and Golfweek.
In his three years on Montezuma Mesa, Schauffele compiled 21 top-10 finishes, 16 top-five placements and two individual titles before graduating with a degree in social science. He also owns the school record with a 71.50 career scoring average in 118 rounds played, as well as the program's single-season standard of 171 birdies established in 2014-15.