Justin Thomas has lauded Xander Schauffele and claimed that he has the best attitude on tour, but admitted that there is one point he would make that he does not mean disrespectfully.
Before the Olympic Games, there appeared to be a genuine debate over whether Xander Schauffele or Scottie Scheffler had had the better year to date. Scheffler had won six times before the end of June, but Schauffele had clinched two major titles.
Some felt Scheffler would trade years with Schauffele, but obviously, the Olympic gold medal won by the world number one surely tips the scales in his favour once again.
But there is absolutely no question that 2024 was a real breakout year for Schauffele, with the 30-year-old previously finishing in the top 10 in 11 major appearances previously. He had previously won seven times on the PGA Tour, with none of those wins coming this year.
Justin Thomas makes Xander Schauffele claim
After losing out to Rory McIlroy at the Wells Fargo Championship, some may have wondered what Schauffele was missing as he clearly had the game to compete with the very best.
It seems that his peers are also somewhat perplexed that he has not won more often, as Justin Thomas suggested on the No Laying Up Podcast.
“I’ve always felt like, and this is not a disrespect to Xander at all, but I’ve felt like he’s the most – I don’t know, underachieved probably isn’t the right thing to say – but I feel like he had not won as many tournaments as the quality of his game. Every time I’ve played with him since the first time I played with him, in 2016 or 17, it was like holy —-, this guy is really good at everything.
“The thing about Xander, I think his demeanour is arguably the best on tour. I think he stays so level-headed and he just grinds and salvages a way and just finds a way to get in contention or finds a way to make cuts and then backdoor to top 10s. Little things like that that while a lot of people would prefer the career of winning two, three, four times in a year and having five missed cuts, but that stuff builds confidence, and confidence is something that I don’t think anybody can necessarily just go out on the range or just flip a switch and they’re more confident.
“I think Scottie and Xander have so much faith and confidence in their abilities that they’re just better at staying present and staying in the moment, and playing the course for what it is better than anyone else right now.”
2024 could be turning point in Open champion’s career
It will be interesting to see how Schauffele’s two major wins impact his fortunes going forward, as many will be expecting him to win several more. He is so consistent, with eight top fives in 30 appearances in golf’s four biggest events.
Todd Lewis recently suggested that Schauffele has the potential to win six majors, and he may now be freed up by the fact that he has proved that he can get the job done.
But golf is currently enjoying such a golden period, with Scheffler, Collin Morikawa, Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm and Thomas all also on two major titles, so it is not going to be easy for Schauffele to add to his victories at the PGA Championship and The Open.
However, there is absolutely no question anymore over whether Schauffele has what it takes to get across the line.
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