Xander Schauffele is a huge fan of Adam Scott and he’s certainly not the only one who admires the Australian.
Scott is 13 years Schauffele’s senior and just like many other players on the PGA Tour, the American looks up to the Australian.
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It has been hugely impressive to watch Scott over the past few years. It’s fair to argue that he has actually improved as an all-round golfer as he has gotten older.
Schauffele is one of the many younger players who emerged onto the scene a decade ago and made Scott‘s task of winning golf tournaments even harder.
After a tough 2025 when Schauffele returned from injury, there have been a lot of positive signs with his game in 2026.
He will be hoping that his game peaks for major season over the next few months, and the same can be said for Scott, who still has genuine ambitions of winning the four biggest tournaments in the game, despite the fact that he will turn 46 in July.
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Xander Schauffele blown away by what Adam Scott is doing
Schauffele addressed the media on Tuesday ahead of the start of the Valspar Championship on Thursday.
He was asked whether he feels like one of the experienced players on Tour now, having turned pro more than a decade ago now.
Schauffele shared his genuine admiration for Scott, when speaking to reporters in Tampa on Tuesday afternoon.
Photo by Logan Whitton/Augusta National/Getty Images
“Last week I was sitting at THE PLAYERS in the physio room watching Adam Scott playing and winning in 2004 with like the likes of Kevin Sutherland and Jay Haas and those guys out there,“ the two-time major champion said.
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“I was like, holy smokes, you know, he’s been at it for a while. And it’s impressive that he’s sitting out here at 45 with 190 ball speed just doing his thing.
“So there’s a lot less of those guys out here is what I’ve realized. When I first came on TOUR there was more, a few more of those sort of older 30 year olds and younger 40 year olds.
“And the TOUR’s getting younger, which is great for golf, but I’m realizing I’m starting to be in that sort of weird spot, so I need to stay healthy and stay strong and keep competing.“
Xander Schauffele on how things have changed for him on the PGA Tour
Schauffele responded when asked by reporters how things have changed for him after being out on the PGA Tour for nearly 10 years now.
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“You kind of live and learn,“ the 32-year-old American admitted.
“The injury was sort of the biggest hurdle I’ve had in my career in terms of, I felt like you can be leading a tournament and you lose it and you kind of learn from that. You never really expect to be injured ever. You don’t plan for that.
“Luckily, I have a good team around me to sort of push me or keep me going and keep me healthy. It was one thing that was tough to learn from, but overall, I don’t know, I mean, I think one thing I still realize is that I love playing golf.
“I love competing. If I spend two or three weeks at home I start to miss being out here. I’m sure that’s going to change at some point.“
Xander Schauffele is almost classed as a veteran on the PGA Tour now, so can you imagine how Adam Scott feels, having been out there for more than 20 years.
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