Xander Schauffele finally breaks through. What makes the difference?

The past 12 months have seen it all happen – crazy winning streaks, new Grand Slam champions, Grand Slam week arrests(!) and more. With 2025 just around the corner, our writers are looking back at the most memorable moments from 2024.

No. 15 – Charley Hull becomes popular | No. 14 – LIV, LPGA CEO farewells | No. 13 – Solheim Cup parking fiasco | No. 12 – Phoenix Open chaos | No. 11 – Lydia Ko's Hall of Fame revival | No. 10 – PGA Tour/Saudi Arabia PIF merger deadlocked No. 9 – Keegan Bradley named Ryder Cup captain | No. 8 – Lexi Thompson out

No. 8 Greatest Golf Moments of 2024: Xander Schauffele takes the next step

I spent time with Xander Schauffele’s father, Stefan, in the shipping container home he was building in Hawaii in the hours after his son’s breakthrough Grand Slam win. Had a conversation. After all, he was there every step of his son's path to golf greatness. What does it mean to cross the line?

“We knew it was coming,” Stefan said matter-of-factly. As the odds grew against his son's victory, he made the trek down the mountain to play the back nine of the PGA Championship. “In our opinion – and I think I can speak for him – there was never any doubt in that regard. I mean, look how consistent he is. It just happened.

Okay, but how is it actually done? Feel?

“I just started crying. It finally happened. FinallyThat happened,said Stefan, inevitability giving way to surprise. “I just watched until he won – and then I released my emotions. I was helpless in that moment. Give me the tissue box.

There is no doubt that Scottie Scheffler is the major winner on the 2024 PGA Tour, Nelly Korda has almost done the same on the LPGA, and Bryson Bryson DeChambeau combines YouTube dominance with U.S. Open victory. But when it comes to the oldest metric — big win totals — there’s only one player on the planet with two wins to his name.

Stefan Schauffele may have missed his trip to Valhalla, but he didn't miss his Scottish summer adventure, making the trek to the Royal Troon in mid-summer British Open. When this also ended in victory, his father was excited, moved, and even more Full of confidence in his son's future.

“He's only half done,” Stefan said, with that characteristic twinkle in his eye. “I would say [he’s] The man with the greatest potential for a career grand slam. How about it?

But what's the difference? What took Schauffele from perennial major championship contender to winner and then winner again? There are no easy answers, and some analytical minds might put it down to luck, variance, or a coin toss. At various points this year, Schauffele has praised his experience, the work he’s doing, the addition of Chris Cuomo to his team, and, as he put it, staying “ Steady dripping causes stone to collapse. When I had the opportunity to spend some time with Xander himself in early December of this year, I was eager to hear him describe the incident in months of hindsight.

“You never know how you're going to react once you get there,” he said between shots at a Florida range. “You practice everything you're supposed to do the right way, the process, all that stuff. But when I got into some of these positions, I felt like there were some holes in my game.

He pointed to Carnoustie as an example, recalling the 2018 British Open where he displayed what he called a lack of discipline on the back nine on Sunday.

“The way I swing, it's hard for me to hit a controlled chip shot; it's all unexpected, leaning left. That's still my tendency now; I'm just getting more into it. But When I get into these positions, I see this pin on the right back and I think, 'Okay, the perfect shot is where I sit. [I’d been] So the whole game was strict, try to hit a low draw, just on the left. And then all of a sudden, you know, I'm so good, I want to try it, and then I mess up. Everything about you is in your head now. You are just beginning to unravel. So a lot of things happened to me and I felt like my game was very close, but I didn't accept what I had. I always want more.

“So I guess it's like striving for perfection, you want to hit all the balls at the right time in the big moments. And along the way, you find out that's not all.

He didn't reach perfect golf in 2024, and he won't reach perfection in 2025. But within two weeks—the two most important weeks, for that matter—he had perfect results. Schauffele is a Grand Slam champion. Nothing can change that now.

You can watch our full warm-up interview below.

” >