PGA Tour: former Masters champ Charl Schwartzel in mix at 3M Open
By Tim Letcher
Charl Schwartzel has just two career wins on the PGA Tour. Can he add this week’s 3M Open to his resume?
The perception of Charl Schwartzel is somewhat skewed by his greatest accomplishment on the golf course. Schwartzel, who finds himself in the mix this week on the PGA Tour at the 3M Open, does not mind that perception, but he would also love the chance to add to his legacy.
Schwartzel, of course, is known as the winner of the 2011 Masters, his first and only major championship in his career. What most people may not realize is that Schwartzel was just 26 years old when he won at Augusta and that the South African had plenty of good golf ahead of him.
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On the international front, Schwartzel has won 13 times overall, including four titles at the Alfred Dunhill Championship on the European Tour. Despite his international success, Schwartzel has won just twice on the PGA Tour.
Ironically, his first tour win, at the Masters, remains the highlight of his career.
His second tour win came five years later when Schwartzel topped Bill Haas in a playoff to win the 2016 Valspar Championship.
This season seemed to be nothing special for Schwartzel prior to this week. He had entered nine events on the PGA Tour this season, making just three cuts before this week. His best finish so far this season is a tie for fifth at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. His only other top 25 came when he tied for 17th at the Honda Classic in March.
Since the tour restart in June, Schwartzel has played in five events, making just one cut. That came at the RBC Heritage when he barely made the cut, then rallied on the weekend to finish in a tie for 41st.
Schwartzel took advantage of the scoring conditions on Saturday and he started early. On the first hole, he stuck his second shot about five feet from the hole and made the putt to immediately get to 1-under par.
He would par the next four holes before taking full advantage of the par-5 sixth hole. His second shot left him about 35 feet for eagle and he was able to make the putt to get to 3-under on the round.
Schwartzel would par the seventh and eighth holes before a slip-up on the ninth. He second shot was less than his best and he was unable to get up and down, suffering a bogey. Still, he was 2-under on the front nine.
On the back nine, Schwartzel opened with pars on the 10th and 11th holes before taking advantage of another par five at the 12th hole. There, he nearly holed his bunker shot for eagle and settled for a tap-in birdie to get to 3-under par.
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He would make three more pars before a birdie on the 16th hole got him to 4-under on the round. After a par on 17th, Schwartzel got up and down out of a bunker on the 18th hole for a birdie to close the round at 5-under.
His rounds of 66-68-66 have him at 13-under par heading to Sunday’s final round. It will likely take something special for Schwartzel to win at the 3M Open, but seeing him in contention is a positive not only for him, but for golf in general.