BMW Championship: Xander Schauffele delves deep into path to glory

Three months in the past, Xander Schauffele arrived at Valhalla Golf Membership as the perfect present participant to by no means win a significant. He additionally had not gained in practically two years, along with his final victory coming on the 2022 Genesis Scottish Open.

However since then, Schauffele has turned in two legendary performances—a stretch that not even Jack Nicklaus achieved throughout his illustrious profession. Schauffele shot a closing spherical 7-under 65 on the PGA Championship to eclipse Bryson DeChambeau by a stroke, thus successful his first main. Then, two months later, Schauffele had what he known as ‘the spherical of his life’ on Sunday at Royal Troon: a 6-under 65, which made him the Champion Golfer of the 12 months.

These two performances, coupled along with his 13 top-10 finishes this yr, led many pundits to label Schauffele because the Participant of the 12 months—throughout the identical season wherein Scottie Scheffler has had an unbelievable, Tiger Woods-like run.

However none of this success occurred in a single day. It often by no means does.

As a substitute, it took arduous work, years of grinding it out, and dedication to his craft for Schauffele to succeed in the game’s apex. But it additionally required Schauffele to have a look at himself within the mirror, know what units him off, and what distracts him to turn out to be top-of-the-line gamers on the earth.

“I get pissed off usually. I rapidly attempt to appropriate myself, realizing it doesn’t do me properly,” Schauffele mentioned forward of this week’s BMW Championship.

“I don’t function properly after I’m too offended or too joyful. If I ever get too chatty on the golf course, I lose concentrate on what I’m attempting to do, and if I get too offended, I lose concentrate on what I’m attempting to do, as properly. I attempt to keep within the center lane of my thoughts.”

Schauffele mentioned he realized that tactic throughout his rookie season on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2016, when he missed 9 cuts however recorded three top-five finishes. He didn’t win that season, both.

“First yr on the Korn Ferry Tour. It was my first time, I’m sitting there, big pat on my again, I bought by way of Q-school and I used to be fired up, and right here I’m. I’m a recent child out of school, and I’ve bought my [Korn Ferry] card already; that’s fairly particular,” Schauffele mirrored.

Photograph by Gregory Shamus/Getty Photos

“Then I made 25 grand, I’m floating [my caddie] Austin [Kaiser] with me each week and paying him greater than I’m making, we’re rooming collectively, and I’m offended on a regular basis. It was loads of self-reflection, I assume, at the moment to appreciate that I used to be actually pissed off and I felt like I used to be enjoying respectable golf, I used to be lacking cuts by one shot, and I used to be having these little mini-meltdowns on a regular basis. I bought my act collectively, fastened that, after which looped that in. Bought my card my [PGA Tour] rookie yr.”

Schauffele completed twenty seventh within the Korn Ferry Tour rankings in 2016, which helped him safe PGA Tour membership the next yr.

However life on the PGA Tour is a complete completely different animal. He started the 2016-17 wraparound season with a T-60 on the Safeway Open in California. Then, he bounced again, posting a top-five end on the Sanderson Farms Championship, which helped his pockets and his confidence.

A wholesome dose of struggles adopted from there.

From November 2016 to the tip of April 2017, Schauffele missed reduce after reduce. When he did make it to the weekend, he didn’t contend. His finest end throughout that stretch got here on the Puerto Rico Open, the place he tied for thirtieth. Life was tough for the rookie, so Schauffele leaned on his family members for assist, as many younger adults do.

“I might set targets and speak with my dad quite a bit about form of the psychological aspect of it, loads of optimistic self-talk, loads of self-belief,” Schauffele mentioned.

“As a child, you inform your self issues, and also you try to dream of them at evening, however till you truly do it, it’s generally arduous to consider.”

He additionally admitted to ‘beating himself up in resort rooms for 2 years,’ combating inner demons and frustrations, hoping to maintain his PGA Tour card intact. Sadly, Schauffele’s possibilities of doing so regarded slim by Could 2017. He tied for twenty fourth on the Wells Fargo Championship that month, which improved his FedEx Cup rating to 125—proper on the border of those that obtain tour playing cards the next yr.

Then, every little thing modified on Monday, Jun. 5.

Schauffele made it to U.S. Open closing qualifying in Memphis, scheduled on the Monday earlier than that yr’s FedEx St. Jude Basic at TPC Southwind. He shot the low spherical of the morning at Ridgeway Nation Membership, taking pictures a 64, after which posted a 71 within the afternoon at Germantown Nation Membership, which put him in a five-for-two playoff for a visit to Erin Hills. That rapidly changed into a three-for-two playoff the next morning, as darkness suspended play for the day.

Schauffele then superior, which paved the best way for an enormous confidence enhance.

“I performed with [Steve] Stricker for 36 holes to get into Erin Hills, and I performed with him, and I had to enter a playoff the subsequent morning truly to play like 4 extra holes,” Schauffele reminisced.

“I bought off the inexperienced, Strick instructed me, ‘I feel you’re actually good.’ He requested me how my yr had been going, and I instructed him it hadn’t been going nice. He gave me a pleasant veteran pat on the again. Then I bought to Erin Hills and tied for fifth.”

The second high 10 of his PGA Tour profession got here at a significant championship, as Schauffele completed six strokes behind Brooks Koepka. However that robust end in Wisconsin gave Schauffele a bevy of FedEx Cup factors and much more confidence.

One other robust end result on the Vacationers Championship adopted, after which two weeks later, Schauffele gained The Greenbrier Basic in West Virginia, securing his PGA Tour card for the subsequent two years.

“I feel once you safe your card as a rookie, it’s one thing which you can have fun, little doubt,” Schauffele mentioned.

It solely bought higher from there. Schauffele made the FedEx Cup playoffs after which turned the primary rookie to win the Tour Championship. After all, his unbelievable report at East Lake since 2017 has been mentioned at size in recent times, as Schauffele has by no means completed worse than a tie for seventh. He additionally has three runner-up finishes.

Photograph by Sam Greenwood/Getty Photos

Nonetheless, successful a playoff occasion doesn’t carry the identical weight as successful a significant title, which took Schauffele some time to do. But, between then and now, loads of frustrations continued to linger.

Am I adequate?

Am I a high participant?

Do I’ve what it takes to win a significant championship?

Little question that Schauffele had the expertise to take action. He all the time has. The outcomes present it too. Between his main debut in 2017 and this yr’s Masters, Schauffele recorded 17 top-20 finishes of the 28 majors he performed in—fairly spectacular stuff.

However that inner nervousness and pent-up frustration lingered for years.

He additionally gained tour occasions considerably sporadically, going three years between victories, fueling these inner demons. After his triumph on the Sentry Event of Champions in 2019, Schauffele didn’t return to the winner’s circle till 2022, when he and Patrick Cantlay gained the Zurich Basic of New Orleans.

Powerful finishes happened in between, maybe none harder than how issues ended at Kapalua in 2020.

“I had a two-putt to win, and I three-putted, and I bought in a playoff, after which I used to be so rattled from three-putting, I had an inner meltdown and chunked a chip off the perimeter or one thing—I can’t bear in mind. I’m fairly good at being a starfish with regards to stuff; I neglect. Three-second reminiscence right here, and I neglect about it. However I simply bear in mind three-putting there, was actually excited, actually amped up, downwind putt, whacked it seven toes by, missed it, was in full shock, then had to enter a playoff,” Schauffele mentioned Tuesday.

“Had no probability of successful that factor, clearly. I bear in mind sitting within the resort room trying on the flooring, and my spouse Maya was asking me if I used to be okay, and I used to be like, ‘You’re going to have to offer me at the least 10 or quarter-hour.’”

It took over two years for Schauffele to win once more after that snafu.

However after that win in New Orleans, he rattled off two extra wins. He gained the Vacationers Championship and the Genesis Scottish Open, which gave him all of the momentum on the earth.

Yet one more drought lingered.

“I’ve completed it twice now in my profession,” Schauffele joked.

“I haven’t gained a event for 2 years and was capable of rattle off two majors [this year]. I don’t even know what meaning.”

What it means is that no person—and for this reason I really like golf, as a result of golf most actually applies to life—ought to ever lose religion of their ardour and in themselves. Schauffele by no means turned so pissed off or down on his luck that he walked away from the sport. He by no means stop. As a substitute, he realized how you can hold these inner feelings at bay, going from having main meltdowns to successful main championships—a testomony to his arduous work, perseverance, and dedication.

Jack Milko is a golf employees author for SB Nation’s Enjoying Via. Be sure you take a look at @_PlayingThrough for extra golf protection. You may observe him on Twitter @jack_milko as properly.