[PHOTO: Lintao Zhang]
Local hero Xander Schauffele isn’t at Torrey Pines this week as he continues to be sidelined with a rib injury. But according to a Golfweek report, Schauffele is close to returning.
Schauffele is coming off a breakthrough season in 2024, earning his first major victory at the PGA Championship then delivering an encore performance two months later at The Open to capture the claret jug. If it wasn’t for Scottie Scheffler’s eight-win campaign, Schauffele would probably have earned PGA Tour Player of the Year honours, with 15 top 10s in 22 starts.
The world No.2 competed in the season-opening event in Maui early last month before appearing in TGL’s debut match. However, the former Olympic gold medallist pulled out of the American Express tournament in mid-January and has since missed AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am along with both tour stops in his childhood hometown of San Diego in the Farmers Insurance Open and this week’s relocated Genesis Invitational. Schauffele has been trying to nurse an injury to his rib cage, which has been diagnosed as an acute intercostal strain/micro tear.
“I need a little more TLC, especially at 31 versus 25, and make sure everything is oiled correctly,” Schauffele told Golfweek. “I thought I’d be fine and kept going and played through it at Sentry and at the first TGL match. I was pretty much tapped. I knew it was getting significantly worse and needed time off.”
Schauffele has mostly avoided health issues in his nine years on tour. Schauffele is feeling better and had originally intended to make a return at the WM Phoenix Open or the Genesis. Alas, he cited Torrey Pines’ healthy rough as one of the reasons he’s had to pass on both southern California events, along with advice from others about not returning to the game too soon and risk re-injury. For now, Schauffele is targeting the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill for his return, followed by the Players Championship.
“I want to get as many reps under the belt before the Masters,” Schauffele said. “It would be nice to get the competitive blood flowing a few times before going into a really big event.”
Schauffele has been a perennial contender at Augusta National, with four top 10s in his past six starts, highlighted by a runner-up finish in 2019 and T-3 in 2021.
