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Xander Schauffele has licked his wounds from Sunday’s remaining spherical of the Gamers Championship and he’s able to get again on the horse this week on the Valspar Championship at Innisbrook Resort’s Copperhead Course in Palm Harbor, Florida.
Schauffele held a one-stroke lead after 54 holes on the PGA Tour’s flagship occasion and nonetheless remained in entrance by the identical margin with six holes to go, however he made two late bogeys and missed a 7-foot birdie putt at 17 to tie en path to ending one stroke behind Gamers champ Scottie Scheffler.
That makes Schauffele winless the final six occasions he’s been within the remaining pairing. When requested for his response to giving “the haters” on social media extra ammunition to the competition that he can’t shut, Schauffele mentioned, “I’ll most likely be part of them within the Haterade at this second. However it’s what it’s. These suck. After I went to mattress final night time, it’s not precisely how I envisioned strolling off the 18th inexperienced. I’ll lick my wounds and proper again to it subsequent week.”
Schauffele has had a couple of days to mirror on his newest shut name and has discovered some positives. He had struggled to determine TPC Sawgrass for the reason that match shifted from Might (the place he completed second in 2018) to its March date and so whereas he “didn’t get it executed,” he was pleased with his efficiency and famous that he rated his ball-striking within the remaining spherical when he shot 70 to be superior than a day earlier when he shot 65.
“If you’re chasing, you may pile up these birdies and get into a pleasant rhythm. If you’re up entrance, you’re simply watching it occur,” he mentioned. “My dad despatched me a textual content to attempt to be as proactive as doable and never reactive.”
Schauffele has been coached by his father, Stefan, since he was a child, however he just lately relocated from the West Coast to Florida and commenced working with famous teacher Chris Como, who has labored with Tiger Woods and Bryson DeChambeau up to now and whose present secure contains Jason Day.
Xander Schauffele tees off on gap 9 throughout the fourth and remaining spherical of The Gamers Championship PGA golf match Sunday, March 17, 2024, at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Seaside, Fla. Scottie Scheffler gained at 20 beneath par and is the primary defending champion within the 50-year historical past of the occasion. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union]
“I actually belief him,” Schauffele mentioned of Como final week. “He’s studying that I generally is a bit — I wouldn’t name myself a head case however I generally is a little too technical at occasions. So he’s put me on a little bit of a trickle when it comes to data.”.
Talking throughout his pre-tournament press convention on Tuesday, Schauffele used that phrase — trickle — once more when referring to his degree of belief within the swing adjustments he’s made, calling it “a sluggish trickle.”
Schauffele was fast to level out that his father at all times knew this present day was going to return when he’d have to show the teaching duties over to another person to assist his son take his sport to the following degree. There’s not a lot room for enchancment. Schauffele is ranked No. 5 on the planet, winner of seven Tour titles, an Olympic gold medal in 2020, a member on the final two U.S. Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup groups, and has made 41 consecutive cuts, the longest present streak on Tour.
However he’s hungry to get again into the winner’s circle after being shut out final yr and to grab that elusive first main championship. His father, he made clear, remains to be concerned and even when he wasn’t smoking his trademark cigar on the grounds at TPC Sawgrass final week, his voice was ever-present upstairs in his son’s head.
“Every part that’s type of up in my mind mentally has been fed to me by my dad, and doubtless from some type of German thinker means again when,” Schauffele mentioned.
Final weekend, two of his dad’s favourite sayings – “a gradual drip caves a stone,” and to “commit, execute and settle for” – which have been hammered into his head from an impressionable age, popped from Schauffele’s mouth throughout his press conferences.
“Even after I was 9, he made a little bit factor for me that had the CEA in it and it type of had a pleasant ring to it. So I really feel prefer it type of applies to the whole lot that I do on and off the course, and it’s a extremely easy means to consider issues and fairly efficient, if you may make it work,” he mentioned.
Feeling higher about his sport and the optimistic takeaways from his three-way tie for second, Schauffele is able to transfer ahead. He’s solely performed the Valspar Championship as soon as earlier than, however added it to his schedule now that he can drive to the Florida Swing occasions in his automobile with spouse Maya and their canine.
“I really feel like the very best is in entrance of me, and the one means it’s not going to be in entrance of me is that if I let all this stuff get to my head and never play my sport,” he mentioned. “After an in depth name final week, generally it’s good simply to get again to work and form of put your head down and take a look at to determine a brand new golf course, so comfortable to be right here.”
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