Xander Schauffele has gone 38 tournaments without a win on the PGA Tour.

Rory McIlroy is doing his best to make sure Schauffele’s painful drought continues.

McIlroy shot a bogey-free 4-under 67 on Saturday on fast greens to pull within a stroke of Schauffele with 18 holes remaining in the Wells Fargo Championship.

Schauffele, who entered the day four shots ahead of McIlroy and Jason Day, scraped and clawed his way to a 70 to get to 12-under 201 as he looks to avenge last year’s runner-up finish here at Quail Hollow.

“I’m going to have to earn it tomorrow,” Schauffele said. “I’ve got Rory breathing down my neck. I’ll look at the leaderboard here shortly, but yeah, I think if I strike the ball they way I did today off the tee and just a little more focus coming into the greens, picking the spots and then going through my process a little better, should be in a good shape.”

He will be again paired with the steady McIlroy, who has shot 67-68-67.

Sungjae Im was four shots strokes back after holing out from bunker on No. 18 to save par and shot 69. Sepp Straka matched McIlroy’s low round of 67 for the day and was alone in fourth at 7 under, while Day was fifth at 5 under — making five bogeys in a 73.

McIlroy birdied Nos. 9 and 10 to pull within two shots, then got to one when Schauffele bogeyed the 12th.

The crowd began chanting “Rory! Rory!” as the star from Northern Ireland stepped to the 13th tee.

Seizing the momentum, McIlroy rolled in another birdie putt on No. 14 to move into a tie, but Schauffele matched that with a long birdie putt of his own moments later. Schauffele fought off McIlroy the rest of the way to maintain the lead despite finding the sand eight times in the third round. He had five sand saves.

Sagstrom, Zhang separate from Korda

Madelene Sagstrom and Rose Zhang left Nelly Korda and everyone else way behind Saturday in the Cognizant Founders Cup.

Trying to win a record sixth straight LPGA Tour event, Korda was 11 shots behind Sagstrom and 10 back of two-time NCAA champion Zhang with a round left at Upper Montclair Country Club.

After months of near-perfect play, Korda inexplicably hit bad drives, found bunkers from the fairway and missed short putts. She shot a 1-over 73.

Sagstrom, who has played well on this course the last three years, had a 66 to get to 19-under 197. Zhang, who won in her professional debut in New Jersey state a year ago, had a 67 after lipping out on a short birdie putt at No. 18.

Unless something unexpected happens, one of them will win their second LPGA Tour title. The 31-year-old Sagstrom has not won since 2020. The Swede who starred at LSU had a bogey-free round of six birdies, highlighted by three in row on the last three holes on the front nine.

The 20-year-old Zhang, who won the Mizuho Americas Open in Jersey City last year, had seven birdies and two bogeys.