Xander Schauffele has provided something of a reminder of his quality in the last few weeks, having been Team USA’s leading points scorer at the Ryder Cup before going on to win the Baycurrent Classic.
It has been a largely frustrating season for Xander Schauffele on the course. Many expected the 31-year-old to kick on after winning the PGA Championship and The Open Championship in 2024.
Unfortunately, he spent some time on the sidelines due to injury. And he took a while to dust off the cobwebs upon his return. Schauffele failed to make it to the Tour Championship for the first time in his career.
Schauffele did win three points from four matches at Bethpage Black. And he followed that by winning over in Japan this past week.
Where Xander Schauffele still outperforms Scottie Scheffler
The FedEx Cup Fall is not exactly the highlight of the season for the biggest names on the PGA Tour. Nevertheless, Schauffele managing to win at Yokohama perhaps sends something of a warning to his rivals.
In fact, speaking on Golf Channel, Ryan Lavner claimed that he has seen enough from Schauffele to believe he is still potentially the best on tour in one particular category.
“I don’t know if he’s back. Winning the Baycurrent Classic is not quite a level of winning a signature event or a major championship. But it is interesting, you listen to Xander Schauffele after the BMW Championship and he failed to qualify for the Tour Championship for the first time since he has been a card-carrying member of the PGA Tour, it sounded like he wanted the 2025 season to end,” he said.
“However, you look at how he played at the Ryder Cup, and now he played in Japan, certainly seems like he’s figured something out. Go back to the Ryder Cup, he was the leading points earner for that US team at Bethpage Black. Played some really good golf under intense, high pressure situations. That obviously gave him a lot of confidence that he used last week in Japan.
“I’m chalking 2025 up to a statistical aberration. 86th strokes gained off the tee, 130th on the greens. That is very un-Xander Schauffele-like; something he has not done since he has crashed on the PGA Tour back in 2017. You look at what he did statistically in 2024, just a year earlier, he was top 45 in every major statistical category.
“You could make the argument that it’s Xander Schauffele, not Scottie Scheffler, who’s actually the most well-rounded, most complete player on the PGA Tour. I’d be stunned if he does not have a bounce back in 2026. He now has essentially three months off to get his swing sorted, once again, with coach Chris Como. Get his putting back on track. I think the arrow is pointed back upward for Xander Schauffele.”
What players said about Xander Schauffele and Scottie Scheffler towards the end of 2024
The possibility of a rivalry between Schauffele and Scheffler emerged during 2024. The pair won three of the four majors, with the world number one clinching The Masters for a second time.
Injury prevented both players from flying out of the blocks in 2025. However, Scheffler was clearly able to get back towards his best a lot sooner.
But in terms of 2024, several players claimed they would rather have Schauffele’s year than Scheffler’s. The fact that he managed to win two majors was clearly decisive.
| Strokes gained category | Scottie Scheffler’s PGA Tour rank (2024) | Xander Schauffele’s PGA Tour rank (2024) |
| Off the tee | 2nd | 10th |
| Tee to green | 1st | 2nd |
| Approach | 1st | 6th |
| Around the green | 17th | 42nd |
| Putting | 77th | 12th |
| Total | 1st | 2nd |
Schauffele’s task is to ensure that there is a similar debate to be had in 2026.
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