After enduring the most disappointing season of his career, Xander Schauffele returned to the winner’s circle for the first time in more than a year and did so in Japan at the Baycurrent Classic, where he has family roots, in front of his maternal grandparents.
“It’s good to know I’ve still got it,” he said.
Schauffele fired a final-round 7-under 64 at Yokohama Country Club on Sunday to win for the first time since the 2024 British Open. The 31-year-old Schauffele rolled in a 22-foot birdie putt at 14 to pull ahead of Max Greyserman and hold on for his 10th career PGA Tour title in his 200th career start.
Schauffele was the highest-ranked player in the 78-man limited field at No. 4 in the Official World Golf Ranking but after winning two majors last year in a breakout season, he suffered a rib injury in December and was sidelined for much of the early portion of the season. He never recaptured the magic that helped him win the PGA Championship and British Open in 2024. He recorded just three top-10 finishes and failed to qualify for the Tour Championship for the first time in his career. He spoke candidly about how his confidence had taken a hit but after being one of the few bright spots for Team USA at the Ryder Cup, recording a mark of 3-1-0, including a singles victory over Jon Rahm, he entered this week with momentum.
“It’s a tricky thing,” he said of confidence. “It takes a while to grow and it goes away quickly. I’m just trying to put one block after the other and slowly grow that confidence.”
With rounds of 71-63-67, Schauffele held a share of the 54-hole lead for the first time since the 2024 PGA Championship. He and Max Greyserman, the other overnight co-leader, and rookie Michael Thorbjornsen all were tied for the lead at 16 under with six holes to go. But neither of his closest competitors had tasted victory in the big leagues before and Schauffele could almost taste it when he rolled in back-to-back birdies at Nos. 13 and 14, the latter a 22-footer. He tacked on one more birdie at 17 to give him a two-stroke cushion, which he needed as Greyserman, who closed in 65, nearly holed a 7-iron from the fairway for eagle.
“I played great, but I just didn’t play good enough,” said Greyserman, who finished second for the fifth time in the past two years. “Just need to get one more extra gear on Sunday. That’s what I’m missing.”
Schauffele signed for a 72-hole total of 19-under 265 and a one-stroke win over Greyserman. Thorbjornsen (64) finished alone in third. With calm conditions and the course softened by rain earlier in the tournament, it was a day for low scoring and no one went lower than Matt McCarty, who flirted with shooting 58 but bogeyed his final hole and settled for 60.
Winning in Japan held special meaning for Schauffele, who previously won a gold medal at the 2021 Tokyo Summer Olympics. His mother, Ping-Yi Chen, was born in Chinese Taipei but grew up in Japan from the age of four along with her brother. Schauffele’s grandparents, who still live in the fashionable Tokyo ward of Shibuya, picked him up at the airport when he arrived. When his grandparents visited him in San Diego during his childhood, he noted that their bags always gave away their lineage. “It always smelled like Japan,” he told The Los Angeles Times in 2021. “I don’t know how to describe it.”
Schauffele’s 91-year-old grandfather and 81-year-old grandmother hugged him after his round on Friday, which they watched in his gallery.
“They’re very mobile for being old. I think my grandpa walked 18 holes no problem,” Schauffele said.
Schauffele’s father Stefan is half-French and was an Olympic hopeful in Germany in the decathlon before losing sight in his left eye after a car accident when he was hit head-on by a drunk driver. Schauffele’s parents met at a San Diego area university in 1988. Three months later, they were married. Schauffele has said he and his brother were raised in a household that was culturally Japanese. “I felt the Asian side from my mom, making sure that we were on top of all our stuff, and being tough in that manner. I’d definitely say that upbringing helped when it comes to being successful on the golf course.”Schauffele said. His mother echoed that sentiment. “We made sure that our kids are following the rules,” she once said. “I mean sorry, but not sorry because they turned out to be OK.”
Indeed, they did. Schauffele became the second youngest active Tour player with 10+ wins.
Read the full article here
