At East Lake Golf Club, at least, golf ruled the day Saturday.
Sure, No. 1 Georgia and No. 14 Clemson were engaged in a college football battle just down the road at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The noon kickoff nearly corresponded with the start of the third round of the Tour Championship. Georgia Tech hosted Georgia State later in the day.
The electronic signs along I-75 spoke volumes for the busy day in Atlanta. ‘Major Sporting Events Ahead’ they warned those headed to the events or passing through the city as traffic slowed.
At East Lake, in the So Cool Zone, a large screen showed the Georgia-Clemson game. There was mild interest in the game with a few fans stopping, some only for a moment, to check on the progress of the game. Several hospitality tents also showed the game.
“For sure, it’s the reason we are here. Otherwise, we would have stayed home,” said William Gentry, a Marietta resident whose daughter attends Georgia, on watching golf over football.
Kayden Parramore, 17, and Tripp Abernathy, 16, came from Alabama to attend the Tour Championship. Parramore clapped for Georgia as a big Bulldogs fan. Abernathy was less vocal, as you would expect an Alabama fan to be under the circumstances.
As for how long they would watch football before turning their attention to golf, that was easy.
“Until Georgia gets up, which shouldn’t be too long, and then when Ludvig Aberg goes to the range,” Parramore said.
It turned out to be a little while before Georgia pulled away. After a close first half, the Bulldogs went on to win 34-3.
Final round tee times
Due to the potential for inclement weather Sunday, final-round tee times at the Tour Championship will be 10:15 a.m.-1 p.m.
Sold out Sunday parking
General parking at Summerhill parking lot, the former Turner Field parking lot, has sold out for Sunday’s final round.
Fans who previously purchased a general parking pass for the Summerhill lot will still have access. Others are encouraged to rideshare to East Lake Golf Course.
Schauffele’s mark in tact - barely
Imagine Xander Schauffele shooting over par at East Lake Golf Club.
It almost happened. Almost.
Schauffele flirted with something he had never done before for 14 holes in the third round.
Until the 14th hole, Schauffele was 1-over par on the day. A birdie on the 15th hole moved him back to even par. His streak of never having shot an over-par round here is intact. It now stands at 31 consecutive par-or-better rounds at the Tour Championship.
The round of even-par 71 was Schauffele’s highest round in the Tour Championship. Until this year, the competition played to a par-70. He entered as the all-time leader in career stroke average here at 66.96 in his 28 rounds in his seven consecutive Tour Championships before this week.
Schauffele, who entered second in the FedEx Cup points standings, is fourth at 16-under par following rounds of 70-64-71. He started at 8-under par in the staggered scoring system.
“I just haven’t really hit any fairways all week,” Schauffele said. “I think it was pretty good for me to shoot (8)-under hitting seven fairways. That’s literally as good as I could do.”
No. 1 still the toughest hole
The opening hold at East Lake continues to present the toughest challenge for the 30 golfers here this week. The par-4 hole is playing with a 4.43 scoring average through three rounds and has yielded a total of four birdies.
Thursday: Scoring average of 4.40 with two birdies, 15 pars, 12 bogeys and one double bogey.
Friday: Scoring average of 4.467 with zero birdies, 19 pars, eight bogeys and three double bogeys.
Saturday: Scoring average of 4.433 with two birdies, 16 pars, nine bogeys and three double bogeys.
