Xander Schauffele is one of the large majority of the field for the BMW Championship who have no experience of playing at Castle Pines – or even in a PGA Tour event in the state of Colorado.
It will be very interesting to see how the field adapt to playing at the altitude of the Jack Nicklaus-designed course, particularly with only a handful of players having experience of playing on the track – with Jason Day in the field the last time a PGA Tour event was held at Castle Pines back in 2006.
Wyndham Clark revealed how unique a challenge Castle Pines is, with the 2023 US Open champion growing up in the Centennial State. So perhaps there is scope for the BMW Championship to throw up a few surprises as the FedEx Cup play-offs get into full swing.
Obviously, Xander Schauffele is going to be one of the favourites for the event, with the 30-year-old winning two major titles this season. Some are expecting Schauffele to beat Scottie Scheffler at The Tour Championship due to his record at East Lake.
Xander Schauffele discusses Castle Pines challenge ahead of BMW Championship
The good news for fans of Schauffele is that he appears to have some confidence when it comes to playing at the altitude – though there are a couple of moments where he feels compelled to double check his yardages.
“Not really [any surprises]. I lived in Vegas for a couple years, and it’s not quite 6,500 or 6,600 feet up in the air, but I think tucked up in Summerlin there it gets maybe just shy of 3,000 feet,” he said.
“I played roughly five percent for two years when I was at home, and maybe that helps me a little bit sort of trust – the only weird thing we have sometimes is when you’re hitting over water and you’re hitting a four iron from 265 yards.
“It’s kind of weird when you think of it that way, but once you and your caddie break it down – it looks far away, but once you and your caddie break it down, the number you have in your head seems like you’re at sea level, for me at least.”
The man to actually beat
Schauffele is in a good position heading into this week, with Scottie Scheffler almost 1,500 points ahead of him in the FedEx Cup standings, and Hideki Matsuyama more than 1,100 points behind him. With 2,000 points available to the winner this week, and 1,200 available for second place, there is a very good chance that Schauffele is going to start The Tour Championship two shots behind Scheffler.
Certainly, something quite strange would have to happen for Schauffele to take the lead ahead of East Lake. And it would be ominous for the field if he does indeed have that two-shot advantage for the finale.
Schauffele won The Tour Championship in 2017 while he has finished as a runner-up on three occasions. So he has plenty of fond memories around the Georgia course.
It felt as if Schauffele was helped on Sunday at The Open by the fact that he had already won his first major title, so it will be interesting to see if he feels a similar sense of freedom in the Colorado skies in the coming days.
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