Xander Schauffele reveals what he said to himself over the putt to win the PGA Championship at Valhalla

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It is not difficult to imagine all the things which would have been going through Xander Schauffele’s head as he walked down the 18th hole at the PGA Championship at Valhalla looking for the birdie which would give him a one shot win over Bryson DeChambeau.

Xander Schauffele had gained the tag for being the best player yet to win a major heading into that week. He had given himself plenty of opportunities, but had failed to get across the line. It was also significant that he had failed to win the Wells Fargo Championship the previous week despite leading going into the final round.

Schauffele had to stand in a bunker for his second shot on the par five, and was left with a tricky chip. At that stage, it appeared that DeChambeau would have had the momentum had the tournament gone to a play-off.

However, Schauffele knocked it fairly close, leaving himself six feet for the first major of his career. It was not dead centre, but the putt did fall into the cup to edge the 31-year-old across the line.

Xander Schauffele shares what he said over the putt to win the PGA Championship at Valhalla

And speaking on The Smylie Show, Schauffele has now detailed what exactly he was saying to himself over the putt to win, as well as the dilemma he faced as he read the green itself.

“I was trying to control all the voices in my head but consciously telling myself what to think. I was just thinking positive things like seize the moment, this is what you have wanted your entire life, you are in control of what is happening and that’s all you can do. That’s all you could wish for,” he said.

“What I always joke about is that I want it to be extremely boring. I want to have a seven shot lead! I can Adam Sandler hockey stick this last hole and laugh about it. I still hope that happens! But the whole thing on 18, the adversity out of the bunker, that chip would have costed me in the past. I didn’t have that shot three years ago, at least comfortable. So all these things came together.

“I was looking over the putt and saw left edge walking up to the green and then I got there on the green and Collin went, oh my gosh, I see right edge. What a nightmare!

“So I kept telling myself it’s six feet, you are an incredible putter, it’s six feet up the hill. You are statistically – unless you f this up – you are an 80 percent takeaway on this putt. Inside the hole, six feet. That’s why I didn’t sit there and let the moment too big. I was like stay in your flow and don’t sit here and try and take more deep breaths. It’s not going to change anything. So I walked in and went through it, and of course my hands were shaking and I was nervous but luckily it lipped in.”

Schauffele has been an ‘incredible’ putter for some time now

Schauffele had reason to be confident with his putter. The 2021 Olympic champion has been inside the top 20 for three of the last four years for strokes gained with the flat stick on the PGA Tour.

All parts of Schauffele’s game appear to be so dialled in now, with no obvious weakness emerging. And having got himself across the line in two major championships now, he will have all kinds of belief heading into 2025.