AUGUSTA, Ga. — Despite conquering two of golf’s last three major championships and compiling an impressive Masters résumé, Xander Schauffele arrives at Augusta National relegated to supporting-cast status—a position shaped by his limited early-season appearances and the overwhelming attention lavished upon Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler. Even his media obligations, scheduled for Monday rather than Tuesday’s prime-time parade of golf’s most marketable stars, reveal his peculiar station in the sport’s current hierarchy.
Yet beneath this understated reception Schauffele exudes remarkable contentment, someone who measures his fortune not by spotlight but by the privilege of getting back what was taken away.
Schauffele relentlessly contended in 2024—accumulating three runner-up finishes and an astonishing 15 top-10s in just 22 starts—while delivering a team-high four points in America’s Presidents Cup victory in the fall. However, it was shattering the major championship ceiling that had long haunted him by winning the PGA Championship at Valhalla and the Open at Royal Troon within a two-month span that allowed Schauffele to rid himself of the whispers about his closing ability while authoring his own story, becoming the player his talents had long promised he’d be. This rise, unfortunately, crashed against unexpected physical limitations thanks to a December rib injury—later diagnosed as a devastating combination of intercostal strain and cartilage tear. He attempted to play through the ailment at the season-opening Sentry in January followed by an appearance in a TGL event before listening to the pain, which sidelined him for eight weeks. The subsequent exile tested his patience, with his March return producing inconsistent performances at Bay Hill and TPC Sawgrass before the Valspar Championship offered a glimpse of revival—his approach play reaching career statistical heights during a final-round 66 that rekindled hope for Augusta.
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Still, given the timing of his setback—arriving precisely as he’d ascended to both the peak of his powers and the summit of his profession—Schauffele faced the inevitable question during Monday’s Augusta National media session: Did he consider himself unlucky that injury had extinguished the heater he’d cultivated through years of persistence?
“Definitely didn’t feel unlucky. I felt dumb at one point sort of being at the brunt of it’s my fault,” Schauffele said. “Felt a little unprofessional, felt irresponsible and I felt sad. Then I was motivated, then I felt sad again. Then motivated finally.
“I don’t know if there’s like a grieving process, but I kind of dealt with it on my own. Like I said, I knew I was going to come back and play, I just didn’t know when. When it comes to feel, I feel like I’m a kid. I just want to go out and play golf and compete at a high level, and that was stripped away from me. Luckily I have a very supportive wife and family to keep me entertained during the downtime.”
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Schauffele had clarified earlier that he knows that, relatively speaking, nothing terrible happened, and joked that the down time made him realize he’s more “emotionally unstable” than he thought. The unexpected hiatus forced him to confront his psychological dependency on competition, revealing vulnerabilities he had previously masked through constant tournament play.
Conversely, as one who has never dealt with a prolonged sabbatical, he noted that he took being healthy for granted. This revelation stuck, as years of uninterrupted play had obscured the fragility of athletic prime—a lesson many competitors only learn after it’s too late.
“Everything is gravy when it’s gravy. It was a nice wake-up call to maybe be a little more responsible when need be,” Schauffele said. “It was a reminder of how much I love to play and compete. I think that was a — I think guys talk about, oh, I’ve been on tour for 20 years, things go by so fast. For me it’s been eight or nine years. I could be wrong. But it’s gone by very fast. To be able to take a step back after winning two majors and sort of accomplishing a lot, to still feel some fire burning watching other guys playing really well is a huge thing because at some point in my life that’s not going to happen, so I’m lucky that it’s still learning.”
As for the recovery process, Schauffele noted that it’s been easier than he expected, even if his game and results haven’t quite been there. “As soon as I got the green light, all the scans came back clean, everyone was telling me I was good, I was out the door running,” Schauffele explained. “People were trying to holster me a little bit longer, know that I’m just going to go berserk and try and hit too many balls. But like I said, as soon as I got that green light, I was very excited to do everything I can to get back in a good position.
“There hasn’t been any sort of setbacks since starting. I haven’t thought about my rib or anything of that nature, which is — that’s the nicest thing about it.”
This will be Schauffele’s eighth Masters appearance, and he’s played exceptionally well at Augusta National, narrowly missing victory in 2021 and claiming runner-up honors in 2019. The past two years have culminated in impressive top-10 finishes, establishing a pattern of consistency that few competitors can match at golf’s most demanding stage. Clearly there’s a distinction between being crowned a two-time major champion and bearing the unwanted label of best player without a major—a psychological burden that weighs differently on every competitor who carries it. In that same breath, Schauffele asserted that he merely wants a chance to be in the hunt during Sunday’s crucible moments. That’s where the true enjoyment lies, in the pressure that either forges champions or exposes vulnerabilities.
“If you can crown yourself the champ at the end, it is so cool. Even when I’ve lost, it’s the most fun I’ve ever had,” Schauffele said.
And as for how Schauffele navigates that defining moment when championship dreams either crystallize or shatter?
“I’ve had different forms of it. I remember going down—starting with Jordan at Carnoustie [at the 2018 Open], and it feeling like I was—I had the rope in my hands, and it was just slipping and I couldn’t get a hold of it,” Schauffele said. “And before I knew it, the front nine was done, and I shot like 44. And it was like, holy smokes. Then there’s been other times where I’ve been in there and I was aware of that one moment, and I completely lost the grip. And I tried to slow things down, and I was almost playing so slow that I was throwing myself off.
“There’s a peaceful — if you can find it, there’s a serene part of it if you allow yourself to enjoy it almost. But I think it’s so high stress that you sort of — the hardest thing to do in those spots is to stick to your process, is to have the correct conversation with your caddie before you hit the shot as if you’re teeing off on Thursday. That’s the hardest place to get to. And the better you can get at that when you’re under the gun, I think you’ll be more successful.”
Given his recent injury and compressed preparation, this Masters might not appear ideally positioned for Schauffele to insert himself into contention, with merely participating perhaps representing victory enough after his setbacks. But his press conference concluded with a question regarding his expectations beginning Thursday, and Schauffele responded with the steely conviction that separates players from participants, stating he wouldn’t be here if he didn’t believe he could win. Perhaps it was the obvious answer, yet his words carried the weight of legitimacy and self-belief. Pressure is a privilege, after all—the burden reserved for those who’ve climbed high enough to feel its grip. And after wandering the almost-there wilderness for years, Schauffele proved he could exchange that privilege for something tangible. This week, he’s hoping that tangible thing can be hung in his closet.
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This article was originally published on golfdigest.com
