Xander Schauffele has revealed what made his maiden major championship victory at last month’s PGA Championship at Valhalla slightly bittersweet.
Xander Schauffele is now a major champion, with the 30-year-old clinching victory at the PGA Championship by one shot over Bryson DeChambeau.
Schauffele tied a record he already jointly held for the lowest round in a major championship with his opening day 62, and he went on to break the record for the lowest score to par in a major.
It felt like a significant victory for Schauffele, who seemed to be garnering a reputation as being something of a nearly man in the major championships, having previously finished in the top five six times.
Xander Schauffele shares what was bittersweet about PGA Championship win
But there was one aspect of the event Schauffele wishes could have been different, with his father not in attendance. Of course, for much of his career, Stefan has been his coach, with Chris Como taking over those duties in recent years.
And speaking in his press conference ahead of The Memorial Tournament, Schauffele admitted that he has mixed feelings about his major victory with his dad not being there.
“Yeah, we facetimed him from the clubhouse at Valhalla, it was nice. It wasn’t obviously the same as him being there in person, but yeah, a little bittersweet,” he said.
“Obviously, I’d want him there, he’s been through pretty much everything with me, but he was a man of his word, he really wanted to get me set up correctly, make sure there’s really good people around me, obviously he’s always in my ear, a phone call away or a flight away. He felt like I was in a good place to let go of the steering wheel, I’m sure it will be really nice to see him in person once I get back to the west coast.”
One major hurdle now cleared
The good news is that you would imagine that Schauffele will now have plenty of opportunities to win a major with his dad in attendance.
That felt like a massive hurdle for the American to clear. Clearly, he has had the game to compete with the very best for several years now. Remarkably, 2022 is the only year in the last six – including 2024 – where Schauffele has not registered two top 10 finishes in the majors.
But he had to prove to himself that he could get across the line, and now that he has done that, you would not be at all surprised to him win several more in the years to come.
Certainly, many would not be shocked to see him go back-to-back when the world’s best head to Pinehurst No. 2 for the US Open next week.
Receive exclusive golf news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
