[PHOTO: Ross Parker/SNS Group]
All members but one of the American Ryder Cup team are in Napa, California, this week as the side prepares for Bethpage Black. And the lone holdout as a good excuse for his absence.
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US Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley asked for all of his players to participate in the PGA Tour’s Procure Championship this week, allowing them to stay in competitive shape ahead of their biennial match against Europe later this month. Even Bryson DeChambeau, who remains suspended after his defection to LIV Golf and ensuing lawsuit against the tour, is in town to take part in a team dinner scheduled for Tuesday night, local time. Yet not everyone is in northern California from the American squad. Two-time major champion Xander Schauffele was not in the tournament field or expected to be at the meeting, raising questions about his no-show.
However, in a message to the Associated Press’ Doug Ferguson, Schauffele confirmed the reason he isn’t playing at the event is because he just became a father.
After his breakout 2024 campaign – where he captured the PGA Championship and The Open – this season has been a mixed bag for Schauffele. To call it a struggle would be misleading; Schauffele logged top 10s at the Masters and Open and kept an impressive cut streak alive. In that same breath, he missed the first few months of the year due to a rib injury, did not post a finish better than T-7 in 15 starts and missed the Tour Championship for the first time in his career. Through the season Schauffele also expressed frustration with the state of his game.
“There’s nothing worse than trying your hardest and playing like a–,” Schauffele said at the BMW Championship last month. “It’s the worst combo. Some of us do it, some of us don’t. It’s been a while since I have, and I did it for a few weeks now, and it sucked.
“At some point I’m going to sit back and reflect and try to learn something from it. Yeah, it was mentally a long season for me even though it was short,” Schauffele continued. “So, physically I feel a lot better, which is a plus. No sort of recurring injury, which is a plus. About the only positives I can think of so far.”
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Schauffele, 31, still finished third in the Ryder Cup standings and remains third in the world ranking. He will be making his sixth career appearance for the USA at Bethpage Black, and is coming off a team-best four points at last year’s Presidents Cup.
The 2025 Ryder Cup begins on September 26. The Europeans are the defending champions, but have won just once in their past four tries on American soil.
