Xander Schauffele’s frustrating season gives him 1 problem

Twelve months ago, Xander Schauffele was one of the two best golfers in the world, arriving at the Genesis Scottish Open. He is the defending PGA champion and is one week away from winning the 2024 Open. Scottie Scheffler is the world number one, but if he looks in the rearview mirror, Schauffele looks closer than he does.

Schauffele is different now. He cheated early on in the 2025 season due to a rib injury. He’s stuck with some bad swing habits, and over the past few months he’s trying to be That Xander Schauffele again.

“I would say that belief is good,” Schauffele said Tuesday at Renaissance Club. “I don’t think I have a lot of reasons to believe my game is OK. To be honest, it’s a very bad year.”

“Maybe it’s an understatement [the injury] In my own mind, Schuffle said later. “Yes, you’ll be fine, you’ve been playing great all the time. You’ve just had the best year of your career. And I supported it after the worst year of my career. It’s a hot guy. Like I said, I’m trying my best.”

That year began before the season’s opening T30, with a rib injury leaving him in early March. Schauffele struggled when she returned. He cuts his job at Arnold Palmer’s invitational and fired the game at Sunday’s No. 81 Player Championship. On TPC Sawgrass that week, Schauffele spent a lot of time with his coach Chris Como, trying to go back to the swing that brought two major titles in 2024. The combination of his new swings he won in 2024 and his first injury have caused some issues he has never dealt with.

“I would say bad habits,” Schauffele said. “It’s still new – the way I moved clubs last year was still new, and the bad places in the clubs this year were new. I already know that my DNA has been inserted into clubs I’ve never played before.

Schauffele seems to be rising after the players. He finished T12 at Valspar and T8 at the Masters. But since then, he hasn’t recorded the top 10, and his best result is to win T11 in the Truist Championship. The metric system was obtained based on Data Golf’s real strokes, and Schauffele ranked 28th in strokes: Total (1.01). He ranked 78th (0.17), approach (0.77) and 106th place 78th. For comparison, Schauffele ranked second, fifth, second and fifth last season respectively. The grinding of the search made him angry.

Schauffele said during the two-week stink in the UK: “I think I’m just angry. It’s like it’s frustrating, not why we like to play in the fight, but you know, you know, it’s a big effort.

The work started with the ears, and Schauffele admitted that his attitude had declined, but the grinding back taught him to walk consistently in the right psychological position. When this happens, the game usually follows.

“I’m very frustrated with how I play. I just really took this mindset and I looked at how things were going when things were going well,” Schauffele said. “You know, there’s no need for bipolarity. Just make it as real as possible. If you’re going to have 80 shots, I really don’t want anyone to watch me in a class, like that kid’s shots 80 times. It’s OK. I don’t care that guys get angry, angry, beat clubs or anything else. It’s just my thing. I know when to insert somewhere to some extent, my thoughts are my own.

A search for two major championships is one of the great paradoxes of golf: Sometimes, when your brain goes out, the best swing thoughts come. Schauffele doesn’t have to turn off his brain the way he would rather use something else to distract himself. Just like how conditions and firm turns and how strong winds turn your attention on the Atlantic Ocean, thus shifting attention away from technically and more to basic.

“Honestly, I wish I could come here and play football earlier this year,” Schauffele said. “Things about playing here have made me feel a little relaxed. I definitely try to play less golf.

I was just wondering when to come here and how to stand out from the nine holes, be more creative and attack the other side of my brain. I’m really beating myself for a long time trying to make myself like last year, like last year, that’s that essential thing, it’s not what you’re going to do, it’s what I’m going to do, and what you’re going to do.

Twelve months ago, Schauffele left the Royal Troon, leaving with a fuchsia jug, feeling that if he wasn’t on the same plane as Scheffler, he would at least be really close. Climbing that mountain feels steeper now, but Schauffele doesn’t want to do it in one go.

“The little victory is where I’m fighting,” he said. “If I could play 72 holes in not fiddling with my golf swing this week, it would be a huge victory and I’ll end wherever I end.

Xander Schauffele has changed a lot over the course of the year. He returned to Scotland, knowing that his old form still exists, but he faced a question with no obvious answer: How do you find freedom when trapped in a completely incredible search?

“What makes me really happy is that I can play freely,” Schauffele said. “I think the obstacles I’m trying to play really good golf and then break golf and then fiddling with all day really drive me crazy. That’s why we love this game, but that’s what drives me crazy. So if I can get out of my way, it’s making me happier, it’s the least bit more than winning the game.