Xander Schauffele Looks Back & Looks Forward

The five-foot birdie putt found the left side of the cup and dropped. Xander Schauffele threw both his arms up in the air and displayed two emotions at once—joy and relief—because he had won his first major championship, shooting a final-round 65 at Valhalla at the 2024 PGA Championship to best Bryson DeChambeau by one shot.

It was a grind for the 31-year-old Californian who shot an opening 62 during a long, hot, grueling week in Kentucky. He collected nine birdies that day, which created more expectations and pressure. As one of the best players in the world and opening with that sort of a score, anything other than a victory would’ve been deemed a disappointment.

Not to worry. Schauffele calmly shot consecutive rounds of 68 to get into Sunday’s final pairing. Four birdies on the outward nine held him in good position, but he bogeyed the 10th hole, rebounded with birdies on Nos. 11 and 12, then made par on each of the next five holes

The stage was set for Schauffele on the 72nd hole. DeChambeau, playing two groups ahead, birdied the last hole to get to 20-under-par total for the week, the same number Schauffele was at standing on the 18th tee box.

Schauffele’s drive leaked a smidge left, ending on some fringe just outside a fairway bunker. Standing in that bunker to hit the shot, Schauffele advanced the ball well up the fairway, leaving a pitch and putt for the Wanamaker Trophy. He hit a wonderful pitch shot to five feet and made the putt for the championship.

“When I tie myself back to that last hole, I wasn't trying to hit it one foot in, one foot out of the bunker. I was trying to get it somewhere down on the green so I could hit it up on the green and two-putt and make it easy for myself,” Schauffele said just last week when looking back on last year. “But it was dramatic, and I felt like I had to dig pretty deep into my toolbox on sort of how to get the job done. It's always a good feeling when you can sort of dig deep and pull from old feelings or old thoughts in sort of your biggest moment of your life and I was able to do that.

“Pretty happy with that outcome, obviously.”

Just two months later at Royal Troon in Scotland, Schauffele shot a final-round 65 to win The Open Championship by two shots over Justin Rose and Billy Horschel, going from zero majors won to two majors in the blink of an eye. He finished the season well on the PGA TOUR, making him one of the top players to watch this year, along with World Nos. 1 and 2 Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy.

This year, however has been more of a mixed bag for Schauffele as he dealt with a rib injury for a couple months, which admittedly set him back going into major season. He opened the year in January on the PGA TOUR in Hawaii, then did not play another event until March. He’s only played in seven events this year and has made the cut in each. However, he’s only collected one top-10 finish, but that was last month at the Masters (T-8).

Schauffele is excited to return to Quail Hollow Club, a place where he has played well and he says fits his eye beautifully. He’s hoping that will help give him some added confidence as he attempts to defend a major championship for the first time in his career.

“I've been trying to just pick up the pace as much as possible,” he said. “There's probably been a little bit of anxiousness in terms of playing at a high enough level to win. Feeling like a lot of guys are sort of passing me by.

“So overall, I think my confidence is slowing building, and I'm trying to allow that to happen versus sort of looking back at what I could have done better.

“I'm excited. I am excited for the next stretch. I have played well at Quail Hollow. I think it fits my eye, and for whatever reason, I've been up at the top of the leaderboard for last two years. So I don't see why this year should be an issue.

“Definitely excited to get back and try and defend the trophy.”