It is surprising to see that the golfer who won two majors last season is now struggling to qualify among the top 30. The former World No. 2, Xander Schauffele, after his injury, has been trying to make a comeback, but has failed miserably until now. Even the achievement of winning the Tour Championship as a rookie in 2017 feels far away this season. Knowing the pain of it, the golfer has shared “the worst combo” that led him to the stressful situation.
The 31-year-old, who was placed T22 at the St. Jude Championship, was expecting a better result to get into the top 30 of the FedEx Cup standings. He was placed in 43rd position, requiring a high spot on the leaderboard to make it happen. But his performance in the first round conveyed the struggle for him. Even when he shared what made it out of reach, he said, “I don’t know, probably when I had to birdie like 90 percent of my holes.” But unfortunately, despite 14 birdies, he carded 15 bogeys, which should have been converted to a better score.
The golfer was asked about resetting his flow, for which he revealed the combination that left him distraught. Schauffele answered at the press conference, “No, I mean, everyone out here is trying really hard. There’s nothing worse than trying your hardest and playing like a–. 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. It’s going to be nice to sit back and be at home and away from golf.” Even though he said it would be nice to sit back, from the inside, it is the stress of not performing to the capabilities. The golfer, after his T22 in the first leg event, observed a drop in performance and finished at T28.
May 18, 2024; Louisville, Kentucky, USA; Xander Schauffele reacts to his putt on the seventh hole during the third round of the PGA Championship golf tournament at Valhalla Golf Club. Mandatory Credit: Clare Grant-USA TODAY Sports
He shot rounds of 74-70-73-66; the score kept improving by the final round, but he recorded no bogey-free round. In fact, his stats of 53.6% driving accuracy, 59.7% GIR, and only 33.33% saves are a clear depiction of his struggle at the course.
Even the declining form brought in “Xander Alarm” for the analysts who looked at his automatic qualification for the Ryder Cup.
Analysts Talk About the “Xander Alarm” With the Performance Slump
The golf world has witnessed the struggle of the two-time major winner. But for the analysts, the form is more concerning when he will be representing Team America. Recently, at the Fried Egg Golf podcast, Brendan Porath and CJ Clark talked about it in detail. Sharing about his performance at the BMW Championship, Porath said, “I have an increasing, not high, an increasing amount of Xander alarm. He looked very bad. With wedges. He looked very bad at putting. He looked bad around the green.” With 15 bogeys recorded in the four rounds, the golfer’s performance stats declined swiftly. He recorded a driving accuracy of 71.4% in the first round, but as he continued, it slipped to 53.6%.
Further talking about his Ryder Cup appearance, Clark added, “It’s been a lost year as a whole, but if you’re looking at it from a Ryder Cup perspective.” He continued saying, “If Xander’s your three right now, this second, that’s um, that’s alarming.”
The golfer is currently placed in third place in the Ryder Cup standings, but this will be the first time a performance slump is observed. Earlier, in 2023, he earned automatic qualification, but his performance in contrast was much better. He recorded two runner-up finishes back then, which, compared to 2025, had the best finish of T8 in two events.
Now that he failed to qualify for the Tour Championship and has no commitment to participate in Procore, the golfer will be aiming to rest before he features in the Ryder Cup. Will his performance improve after the break? Time will tell that, but as a golf fan, we would love to see Xander Schauffele back in his prime days. What are your thoughts on it? Share with us in the comments below.
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