Schauffele believes his time has come

Shanghai, October 30: America's Xander Schauffele, who claimed the biggest title of his short career after coming through to beat overnight leader Tony Finau at the first hole of a sudden-death play-off at the WGC-HSBC Champions at Sheshan International in Shanghai believes his time has come.

Schauffele, who had a best-of-the-day round of 68 in regulation play, claimed victory at the par-five 18th with a birdie his countryman was unable to match. It was his first victory since winning twice in his rookie year on the PGA Tour in 2017 and it secured him a first prize of $1.7m and the coveted Old Tom Morris Trophy.

With two holes to play, Schauffele trailed Finau by one stroke and knew that he had to make his move. A stupendous birdie at the 17th, the toughest of par threes, brought him level with Finau on 13 under par - and when both players proceeded to birdie the last, they were taken back down the 18th to do battle once more.

By then, they had seen off the challenge of Justin Rose, who was bidding to become the first player since Tiger Woods in 2007 to defend a WGC title.

Playing in the final group, Rose got to within one stroke of the lead with a birdie at the 7th, but he dropped shots at the 9th and 10th and had to settle for third place after a disappointing 72.

Finau started the day with a lead of three strokes over Schauffele, who had just celebrated his 25th birthday, Rose and Patrick Reed and finished it as one of only a handful of players with four rounds under par.

A special moment. 🎉🏆

Congratulations @XSchauffele on the biggest win of your career.#HSBCChampions pic.twitter.com/8pbcmhO8Rm
— HSBC Sport (@HSBC_Sport) October 28, 2018

Schauffele, whose mother hails from Chinese Taipei, had his family with him for the week, something he credited with helping him to settle into his routine.

"It feels like I'm at home because everyone understands what she's asking, so she takes a load off me," he said with a smile.

He certainly looked at home as the pressure mounted on the final day. He also took the time to sympathise with Finau, who found a fairway bunker with his tee shot in the play-off only for his ball to roll backwards and into its pitch mark, which meant he could only lay up short of the green with his second shot.