Xander Schauffele says what he finds ‘really, really scary’ about TPC Sawgrass ahead of the Players Championship

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Xander Schauffele will be out to right a wrong at TPC Sawgrass this week, having finished runner-up at the Players Championship there in 2024.

Scottie Scheffler won the 2024 Players Championship, successfully defending his title at TPC Sawgrass with a one-shot win.

Two-time winner Tiger Woods called TPC Sawgrass ‘very tricky’ after his second Players Championship win in 2013, which came 12 years after his first.

The top 10 players in the official world golf rankings are all involved this time around, led by number one Scheffler.

Two-time major champion Schauffele finds himself third in the rankings ahead of the latest PGA Tour event, having recently been overtaken by Rory McIlroy.

Xander Schauffele says around the greens at TPC Sawgrass is ‘really scary’

And he is certainly expecting a tough test at Ponte Vedra Beach, having been asked for his thoughts on the course when he went there for the very first time.

“I loved it,” said Schauffele. “I came here before Puerto Rico my rookie year and played and it was like Sunday, it was 50 degrees and blowing 30 when I came here for the first time.

READ MORE: He set the course record at TPC Sawgrass but still lost the Players Championship by eight shots in the same year

“I was not in the tournament. I just figured I would play it eventually, so I thought maybe practice, you know.”

And sharing insight from his practice round, Schauffele noted: “Yeah, yeah, before Puerto Rico. That’s what I did my rookie year.

“But I love property. I actually think it was… you have to think a lot more when we used to play it in May, when it’s dry and it’s not overseed.

“I think it’s a real thinker’s course. You can’t just bomb driver and catch the corner of the fairway and it stops.

“You’re trying to shape shots so the ball runs out into the correct spots, and around the greens is really, really scary when the greens are almost kind of Bay Hilly. I still think it’s a great test and it produces great winners.”

How has Xander Schauffele performed in 2025 so far?

Schauffele had a stunning 2024 season, with his two wins coming at the PGA Championship and The Open Championship.

He became a nine-time PGA Tour champion with those victories, which came at Valhalla and Royal Troon respectively.

READ MORE: Jay Monahan issues an update on talks between the PGA Tour and the PIF ahead of the Players Championship

But he has had to be very patient this time around, having been limited to just two PGA Tour events in 2025 so far.

A rib injury has meant the American has only been able to take on The Sentry and the Arnold Palmer Invitational, where he finished T30 and T40 respectively.