Xander Schauffele
Schauffele in 2021
Personal information
Full nameAlexander Victor Schauffele
Born (1993-10-25) October 25, 1993 (age 30)
San Diego, California
Height5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight175 lb (79 kg; 12.5 st)
Sporting nationality United States
ResidenceLas Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
Spouse
Maya Schauffele
​
(m. 2021)​
Career
CollegeCalifornia State University Long Beach
San Diego State University
Turned professional2015
Current tour(s)PGA Tour
Former tour(s)European Tour
Web.com Tour
Professional wins10
Highest ranking4 (January 10, 2021)[1]
(as of December 3, 2023)
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour7
European Tour2
Other3
Best results in major championships
Masters TournamentT2: 2019
PGA ChampionshipT10: 2020
U.S. OpenT3: 2019
The Open ChampionshipT2: 2018
Achievements and awards
PGA Tour
Rookie of the Year		2016–17
Medal record
Representing  United States
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2020 Tokyo Golf

Alexander Victor Schauffele (/ˈzændər ˈʃaʊfəleɪ/; born October 25, 1993) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour, having won seven times since turning professional in 2015. Schauffele's best major finish is tied second at both the 2018 Open Championship and the 2019 Masters. Schauffele won the Olympic gold medal at the men's individual golf event of the 2020 Summer Olympics.

Early life

Schauffele was born on October 25, 1993, in San Diego, California, to a French/German naturalized immigrant father and a Taiwanese naturalized immigrant mother who grew up in Japan. His father has been his only swing coach throughout his golf career.[2] Schauffele’s teaching philosophy relies heavily on basic ball flight laws and golf club mechanics – as a result Schauffele had not seen his own swing until about age 18.[3]

Schauffele went to Scripps Ranch High School. Two of Schauffele's great-grandfathers played soccer at the European premier level. Johann Hoffmann played for the Austria national football team and won multiple Austrian (SK Rapid Wien), Bohemian (DSV Saaz), and French (FC Sochaux; Racing Strasbourg) national titles. After playing football for VfB Stuttgart, Richard Schauffele excelled in track and field, garnering over 40 titles in discus, javelin and shot put for 2 clubs, the Stuttgarter Kickers and the Cannstatter Ruder-Club.

Amateur career

Schauffele was the individual winner of the 2011 California State High School Championship (California Interscholastic Federation, CIF), playing for Scripps Ranch High School.[4] After graduating from high school, Schauffele played his freshman year in college at California State University Long Beach, where he garnered the 2012 Big West Conference Freshman of the Year as well as the 2012 First Team All-Big West awards.[5]

Prior to his sophomore year, Schauffele transferred to San Diego State University, where eventually he would play out his college career and graduate in 2015. During his three years at SDSU, Schauffele was a Ping and Golfweek Third Team All-American. Scholastically, he was twice awarded the Mountain West Conference All-Academic Team Award. At SDSU, he holds the records for all-time lowest tournament score against par (−17); all-time career scoring average (71.50); as well as the seasonal records for par-5 performance (4.5135); birdies (171) and eagles (9).[6]

Schauffele defeated Beau Hossler to win the 2014 California State Amateur Championship at La Costa Resort and Spa. Later that summer, the two long time rivals met again in a final at Chicago's Beverly Country Club for the 2014 Western Amateur where Schauffele lost to Hossler in the final match in dramatic fashion.[7]

Schauffele accumulated a collegiate record that features 3 wins, 4 runners-up, 19 top-fives and 27 top-tens in a total of 50 tournaments. He was ranked in the top 10 of the World Amateur Golf Ranking at the time he turned professional in 2015.[5][6][8]

Professional career

After turning professional in June 2015, Schauffele entered the 2015 Web.com Tour Qualifying Tournament in fall. He was runner up in first stage at Southern Dunes GC in Maricopa, Arizona. He went on to win second stage at Oak Valley GC in Beaumont, California, and ultimately, narrowly, earned his Web.com Tour card in the finals in Florida in a tie for 45th.[9][10]

2016 Web.com Tour

In 2016, Schauffele played a full season (23 events) on the Web.com Tour. He finished 26th on the regular-season money list, missing a PGA Tour card for 2017 by less than $1000.00, but went on to earn a card through the Web.com Tour Finals by finishing 15th on the Finals money list (excluding the 25 regular-season graduates).[11]

2016–17 PGA Tour: two wins, Rookie of the Year

Schauffele made his PGA Tour debut at the CareerBuilder Challenge in La Quinta, California. In June 2017, at the 2017 U.S. Open held at Erin Hills, Schauffele recorded a bogey-free 6-under-par 66 – it was the first time a player has returned a bogey-free round of 66 or better in their first appearance in U.S. Open.[12] He subsequently became one of only 15 players to ever reach 10 under par at a U.S. Open.[13] He eventually finished in a tie for fifth place, earning him an exemption into the 2018 championship.

Three weeks later, in July, Schauffele recorded his first PGA Tour victory, at the Greenbrier Classic. With the win, he earned exemptions into the Open Championship, via the Open Qualifying Series, the PGA Championship and the 2018 Masters Tournament.

Schauffele qualified for the end of season Tour Championship by moving up to 26th in the standings, from 33rd at the start of the FedEx Cup Playoffs.[14] There he birdied the 72nd hole to claim his second tour victory, by one stroke over Justin Thomas, and become the first rookie to win the Tour Championship. It was also the first time a rookie had won any FedEx Cup playoff event.[15] The win moved Schauffele to third place in the final FedEx Cup standings, bettering the previous best mark by a rookie held by Jordan Spieth by four positions, and gave him a three-year exemption on the PGA Tour, through the 2019–20 season.

During 2017, Schauffele rose to 32nd in the Official World Golf Ranking, up 267 spots from his 2016 year-end position of 299. He was voted "Rookie of the Year 2017" by his peers.[16]

2017–18 PGA Tour

At the beginning of 2018, Schauffele switched equipment manufacturers, signing an endorsement deal with Callaway,[17] having previously been sponsored by TaylorMade.[18] In May, he finished T2 at the 2018 Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass with a score of 14 under par.[19] In the Open Championship at Carnoustie, he tied for second with a score of six-under-par.[20]

Schauffele began the 2018 FedEx Cup Playoffs in 28th position in the standings. Entering the third of four events in the playoff series, the 2018 BMW Championship, he was 41st, needing to move up at least eleven spots to advance to the Tour Championship. He finished in a tie for third to rise to 18th position. That finish allowed him the opportunity to attempt to defend his 2017 Tour Championship title.[21] Schauffele ultimately finished T7 at the 2018 Tour Championship, while placing 15th in the season-long FedEx Cup.[22]

2018 European Tour

Schauffele joined the 2018 European Tour as an associate member. With his win at the 2018 WGC-HSBC Champions, Schauffele rose in the European Tour's Order of Merit, the year long points race dubbed the European Tour Race to Dubai, to 4th position.[23] Schauffele entered the European Tour final event, the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai, in 5th position. With a final round score of 6-under-par 66, which equaled the lowest score of the day, Schauffele finished T16. This ensured a season-ending 4th position on the Order of Merit and participation in the 2018 European Tour's bonus pool.[24]

2018–19 PGA Tour: 2 wins; Presidents Cup

Schauffele at the 2020 Farmers Insurance Open

In October 2018, Schauffele won the WGC-HSBC Champions event in Shanghai, China at the Sheshan Golf Club, in a playoff, defeating Tony Finau on the first extra hole.[25] In January 2019, he won the Sentry Tournament of Champions at The Plantation Course at Kapalua Resort in Maui, Hawaii,[26] returning a course record equalling 11-under-par 62 in the final round to pass Gary Woodland, who he had trailed by five shots entering the final round.[27]

In April, Schauffele tied for second in the Masters Tournament, one stroke behind champion Tiger Woods. It was his third top-five in eight starts at major championships. He led the field with 25 birdies, becoming the third player since 1980 to have 25 or more birdies in a single Masters, joining Phil Mickelson (25 in 2001) and Jordan Spieth (28 in 2015).[28] In June, he finished tied for 3rd at the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach Golf Links in Pebble Beach, California.[29] At The Open Championship in July 2019, he became the first player to have their driver fail The R&A's conformity test.[30]

In early August 2019, Schauffele placed 4th in the inaugural 2019 Wyndham Rewards Top 10.[31] Through the playoffs, he fell to 8th in the standings entering the Tour Championship; this gave him a 6 shot deficit to the leader, Justin Thomas, under the new handicapping system. He had erased the deficit after the first round with a score of 6-under-par 64 and was tied for the lead going into the second round.[32] He ultimately finished in second place, but took maximum world ranking points having returned the lowest aggregate score.[33]

In December 2019, Schauffele played on the U.S. team at the 2019 Presidents Cup at Royal Melbourne Golf Club in Australia. The U.S. team won 16–14. Schauffele went 3-2-0 and won his Sunday singles match against International team star and veteran Adam Scott. Some in golf media called Schauffele the "unsung hero" of the U.S. team.[34]

2021: Olympic Gold

At the Masters in April, Schauffele was two shots behind the leader on the 16th tee, and in second place during the final round. However, at the hole he scored a triple bogey, and ultimately finished third. In August, Schauffele recorded a final-round of 67 to win the Olympic gold medal; he made an up-and-down for par on the final hole to beat Slovakian Rory Sabbatini by one shot.[35] With the accomplishment, Schauffele became the first American since 1900 to win an Olympic gold medal in golf.[36] In September, Schauffele played on the U.S. team in the 2021 Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits in Kohler, Wisconsin. The U.S. team won 19–9 and Schauffele went 3–1–0, winning in both fourball and foursomes, and losing his Sunday singles match against Rory McIlroy.

2022

In April, Schauffele won the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, a team event, with playing partner Patrick Cantlay. In June, he won the Travelers Championship for his sixth PGA Tour victory.[37] In July, he won the J. P. McManus Pro-Am, an unofficial event on the European Tour held at Adare Manor, after shooting a course record 64 in the first round.[38] The same week he won the co-santioned Genesis Scottish Open played at the Renaissance Club in East Lothian, Scotland. It was his third PGA Tour victory in the 2021–22 season, and his seventh overall.[39]

Schauffele qualified for the U.S. team at the 2022 Presidents Cup; he won three and lost one of the four matches he played.[40]

2023

In September 2023, Schauffele played on the U.S. team in the 2023 Ryder Cup at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club in Guidonia, Rome, Italy. The European team won 16.5–11.5 and Schauffele went 1–3–0 including a win in his Sunday singles match against Nicolai Højgaard.

Amateur wins

Source:[41]

Professional wins (10)

PGA Tour wins (7)

Legend
World Golf Championships (1)
FedEx Cup playoff events (1)
Other PGA Tour (5)
No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin of
victory		 Runner(s)-up
1 Jul 9, 2017 Greenbrier Classic 64-69-66-67=266 −14 1 stroke United States Robert Streb
2 Sep 24, 2017 Tour Championship 69-66-65-68=268 −12 1 stroke United States Justin Thomas
3 Oct 28, 2018 WGC-HSBC Champions 66-71-69-68=274 −14 Playoff United States Tony Finau
4 Jan 6, 2019 Sentry Tournament of Champions 72-67-68-62=269 −23 1 stroke United States Gary Woodland
5 Apr 24, 2022 Zurich Classic of New Orleans
(with United States Patrick Cantlay) 		59-68-60-72=259 −29 2 strokes United States Sam Burns and United States Billy Horschel
6 Jun 26, 2022 Travelers Championship 63-63-67-68=261 −19 2 strokes United States J. T. Poston, United States Sahith Theegala
7 Jul 10, 2022 Genesis Scottish Open1 72-65-66-70=273 −7 1 stroke United States Kurt Kitayama

1Co-sanctioned by the European Tour

PGA Tour playoff record (1–2)

No. Year Tournament Opponent(s) Result
1 2018 WGC-HSBC Champions United States Tony Finau Won with birdie on first extra hole
2 2019 WGC-HSBC Champions Northern Ireland Rory McIlroy Lost to birdie on first extra hole
3 2020 Sentry Tournament of Champions United States Patrick Reed, United States Justin Thomas Thomas won with birdie on third extra hole
Schauffele eliminated by birdie on first hole

European Tour wins (2)

Legend
World Golf Championships (1)
Rolex Series (1)
Other European Tour (0)
No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin of
victory		 Runner-up
1 Oct 28, 2018 WGC-HSBC Champions 66-71-69-68=274 −14 Playoff United States Tony Finau
2 Jul 10, 2022 Genesis Scottish Open1 72-65-66-70=273 −7 1 stroke United States Kurt Kitayama

1Co-sanctioned by the PGA Tour

European Tour playoff record (1–1)

No. Year Tournament Opponent Result
1 2018 WGC-HSBC Champions United States Tony Finau Won with birdie on first extra hole
2 2019 WGC-HSBC Champions Northern Ireland Rory McIlroy Lost to birdie on first extra hole

Other wins (3)

No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin of
victory		 Runner-up
1 Sep 17, 2015 Northern California Open 70-69-65=204 −7 1 stroke United States Brian Thompson
2 Aug 1, 2021 Olympic Games 68-63-68-67=266 −18 1 stroke Slovakia Rory Sabbatini
3 Jul 5, 2022 J. P. McManus Pro-Am 64-70=134 −10 1 stroke United States Sam Burns

Results in major championships

Results not in chronological order in 2020.

Tournament 2017 2018
Masters Tournament T50
U.S. Open T5 T6
The Open Championship T20 T2
PGA Championship CUT T35
Tournament 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Masters Tournament T2 T17 T3 CUT T10
PGA Championship T16 T10 CUT T13 T18
U.S. Open T3 5 T7 T14 T10
The Open Championship T41 NT T26 T15 T17
  Top 10
  Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied
NT = No tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic

Summary

Tournament Wins 2nd 3rd Top-5 Top-10 Top-25 Events Cuts made
Masters Tournament 0 1 1 2 3 4 6 5
PGA Championship 0 0 0 0 1 4 7 5
U.S. Open 0 0 1 3 6 7 7 7
The Open Championship 0 1 0 1 1 4 6 6
Totals 0 2 2 6 11 19 26 23

Results in The Players Championship

Tournament 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
The Players Championship T2 CUT C CUT CUT T19
  Top 10

CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
C = Canceled after the first round due to the COVID-19 pandemic

World Golf Championships

Wins (1)

Year Championship 54 holes Winning score Margin Runner-up
2018 WGC-HSBC Champions 3 shot deficit −14 (66-71-69-68=274) Playoff United States Tony Finau

Results timeline

Tournament 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Championship T18 T14 T14 T39
Match Play T17 T24 NT1 T18 T35 QF
Invitational T17 68 T27 T6 T46
Champions T46 1 2 NT1 NT1 NT1

1Canceled due to COVID-19 pandemic

  Win
  Top 10
  Did not play

NT = No tournament
"T" = Tied
QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
Note that the Championship and Invitational were discontinued from 2022. The Champions was discontinued from 2023.

PGA Tour career summary

Season Starts Cuts
made		 Wins 2nd 3rd Top-10 Top-25 Best
finish		 Earnings
($)[42]		 Money
list rank		 FedEx
Cup rank[43]		 Scoring
avg (adj)		 Scoring
rank[44]
2016 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 CUT - - - - -
2017 28 20 2 0 0 4 11 1 4,312,674 12 3 70.16 27
2018 27 22 0 2 2 7 12 2 4,047,538 18 15 70.49 55
2019 21 18 2 2 1 6 14 1 5,609,456 6 2 69.834 11
2020 18 17 0 3 1 7 16 2 3,813,636 11 2 69.227 5
2021 22 20 0 3 1 8 16 2 5,240,653 12 5 69.859 7
Career* 118 97 4 10 5 32 69 1 23,023,958 72[45]

* As of the 2021 season

European Tour career summary

Season Starts Cuts
made		 Wins 2nd 3rd Top-10 Top-25 Earnings
(€)		 Order of
Merit rank
2017 5 5 0 0 0 1 3 623,383 0
2018 9 9 1 1 0 3 6 2,779,425 4
2019 7 7 0 1 1 2 5 1,700,119 10
2020 5 5 0 0 0 3 5 1,162,319 N/A - not enough events to qualify
Career* 26 26 1 2 1 9 19 [46]

* As of December 31, 2020. Note that there is double counting of money and finishes for majors and World Golf Championships between PGA Tour and European Tour stats

U.S. national team appearances

Professional

See also

References

  1. ^ "Week 2 2021 Ending 10 Jan 2021" (pdf). OWGR. Retrieved January 11, 2021.
  2. ^ "Xander Schauffele appears to be catching fire at the right time". PGA Tour. Retrieved July 3, 2017.
  3. ^ "Seizing on dream taken away from dad, Xander Schauffele turns heads in 1st major". Golfweek. Retrieved July 3, 2017.
  4. ^ "CIF past winners". Southern California Golf Association.
  5. ^ a b "Xander Schauffele profile". Long Beach State Athletics. Retrieved April 6, 2017.
  6. ^ a b "SDSU Aztecs Record Book" (PDF). Retrieved April 6, 2017.
  7. ^ "Beau Hossler Defeats Xander Schauffele for Western Amateur Title". Golf Channel. August 2, 2014. Retrieved October 8, 2016.
  8. ^ "Xander Schauffele profile". San Diego State Aztecs. Retrieved April 6, 2017.
  9. ^ "Swensson takes medalist honors at Q-school". PGA Tour. December 13, 2015.
  10. ^ "Three Aztec Golfers Earn Web.com Tour Status". San Diego State University. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
  11. ^ Becoats, Kellen (September 24, 2016). "Web.com Tour: Lindheim on a roll after late arrival to pro golf". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved October 8, 2016.
  12. ^ Berhow, Josh (June 16, 2017). "5 things to know about Xander Schauffele, the Tour rookie contending at the U.S. Open". Golf.com. Retrieved June 20, 2017.
  13. ^ Daly, Dan (June 19, 2017). "U.S. Open Recap". VegasInsider.com. Retrieved June 21, 2017.
  14. ^ Gray, Will (September 17, 2017). "Finau, Cantlay, Schauffele crash Tour Championship". Golf Channel. Retrieved September 25, 2017.
  15. ^ Everill, Ben (September 24, 2017). "Schauffele charges to claim Tour Championship". PGA Tour. Retrieved September 24, 2017.
  16. ^ "Xander Schauffele voted 2017 Rookie of the Year". PGA Tour. October 3, 2017. Retrieved October 3, 2017.
  17. ^ Dusek, David (January 3, 2018). "Callaway signs Xander Schauffele to endorsement deal". Golfweek. USA Today. Retrieved July 6, 2022.
  18. ^ Wall, Jonathan (January 3, 2018). "Xander Schauffele leaves TaylorMade for Callaway after winning Rookie of the Year". PGA Tour. Retrieved July 6, 2022.
  19. ^ McGovern, Ted (May 16, 2018). "Xander Schauffele Ties For 2nd At The Players Championship". MountainWestWire.
  20. ^ Murray, Scott (July 22, 2018). "The Open 2018: Francesco Molinari wins title on day of drama – as it happened". The Guardian.
  21. ^ Menta, Nick (September 10, 2018). "Bradley, Schauffele play way in to Tour Championship". Golf Channel. Retrieved September 10, 2018.
  22. ^ "2018 FedExCup Standings". PGA Tour. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
  23. ^ "With this win - Xander Schauffele". October 28, 2018. Retrieved October 28, 2018.
  24. ^ "European Tour Race to Dubai - Ranking 2018". November 18, 2018. Retrieved November 18, 2018.
  25. ^ "Schauffele wins WGC-HSBC Champions in playoff". Reuters. October 28, 2018. Retrieved October 30, 2018.
  26. ^ Shedloski, Dave (January 6, 2019). "Xander Schauffele again a come from behind winner, this time with a final round 62 in Sentry Tournament of Champions". Golf Digest. Retrieved January 7, 2019.
  27. ^ "Plantation Course". GolfatKapalua.com. Retrieved January 6, 2019.
  28. ^ "Xander Schauffele". PGA Tour. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
  29. ^ "2019 US Open purse, winner's share, prize money payout". Golf News Net. June 16, 2019. Retrieved June 17, 2019.
  30. ^ Hoggard, Rex (July 19, 2019). "Schauffele becomes first to publicly fail R&A's driver test". Golf Channel. Retrieved July 22, 2022.
  31. ^ "2019 Wyndham Rewards Top 10". thegolfnewsnet.com. Retrieved August 30, 2019.
  32. ^ "Golf Tour Championship". Golfweek. August 25, 2019. Retrieved August 30, 2019.
  33. ^ "Xander Schauffele Round 4 Recap at 2019 Tour Championship". PGA Tour. August 25, 2019. Retrieved August 30, 2019.
  34. ^ Ryan, Shane (December 15, 2019). "Presidents Cup 2019: Xander Schauffele is the easy choice for unsung hero of the U.S. team". Golf Digest.
  35. ^ Stafford, Ali (August 1, 2021). "Tokyo Olympics: Xander Schauffele wins golf gold as Rory McIlroy, Paul Casey miss out on medals". Sky Sports.
  36. ^ "Tokyo Olympics: Xander Schauffele wins gold on dramatic final day". BBC Sport. August 1, 2021. Retrieved August 10, 2021.
  37. ^ Eaton-Robb, Pat (June 26, 2022). "Schauffele wins at Travelers after Theegala's double bogey". Associated Press. Retrieved June 27, 2022.
  38. ^ "Lowry's late charge at JP McManus Pro-Am title falls short as Harrington ties course record". The 42. July 5, 2022. Retrieved July 6, 2022.
  39. ^ "Xander Schauffele wins Scottish Open for fourth victory in past 12 months". ESPN. Associated Press. July 10, 2022. Retrieved July 10, 2022.
  40. ^ Beall, Joel (September 25, 2022). "Presidents Cup 2022: Our grades for all 24 players, from an A+ for Spieth to an F for Scheffler". Golf Digest. Retrieved September 27, 2022.
  41. ^ "Xander Schauffele". World Amateur Golf Ranking. Retrieved June 27, 2018.
  42. ^ "Official Money". PGA Tour. Retrieved October 1, 2020.
  43. ^ "FedExCup Playoffs Points". PGA Tour. Retrieved October 1, 2020.
  44. ^ "Scoring Average". PGA Tour. Retrieved October 1, 2020.
  45. ^ "Career Money Leaders". PGA Tour. Retrieved October 1, 2020.
  46. ^ "Xander Schauffele". European Tour. Retrieved December 31, 2020.

External links

PGA Tour Rookies of the Year
World Golf Championships champions
Olympic golf champions in men's individual
Xander Schauffele in the Presidents Cup
Xander Schauffele in the Ryder Cup
Categories