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Xander Schauffele: Greenbrier win opens new paths for the rookie

By Yash Padhye

WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, WV - JULY 08: Xander Schauffele tees off the sixth hole during round three of The Greenbrier Classic held at the Old White TPC on July 8, 2017 in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, WV - JULY 08: Xander Schauffele tees off the sixth hole during round three of The Greenbrier Classic held at the Old White TPC on July 8, 2017 in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images) /
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Xander Schauffele’s life changed – for the good – with his 1st PGA TOUR win at the Greenbrier.

Xander Schauffele looked and played like a veteran at the Greenbrier Classic on Sunday. The craziest part is that he’s still a PGA TOUR rookie.

Schauffele won the tournament by making a birdie on the 72nd hole and finished with a score of 14 under par. But his path to the Tour’s winners circle has been far from easy.

He had worked his way up to Q-school, then played into the Web.com Tour, and finally earned his PGA TOUR card after he finished 15th in the Web.com Tour finals.

What does the Win mean for Schauffele?

With the win at White Sulphur Springs, not only did Schauffele get a jacket and a trophy, but he also went from being 94th in the FedEx Cup rankings to 27th. On top of that, he got a two-year exemption on the PGA TOUR as well as an exemption to the 2018 PLAYERS Championship in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.

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With the Greenbrier being an Open qualifying event, Schauffele also qualified for the Open Championship at Royal Birkdale golf course in a little less than two weeks.

The win also takes him to the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow golf course in Charlotte, North Carolina this season.

With all of those benefits and the way he played on Sunday, it’s hard to realize that Schauffele is just 23 years old. According to PGATour.com, the victory on Sunday comes after just 24 starts on the PGA Tour.

Success on the PGA TOUR

Schauffele seemed to have found great success on the PGA TOUR. Last month he put on a performance for the spectators at the U.S. Open at Erin Hills finishing at 10 under par and in a tie for fifth place.

Related Story: Xander Schauffele: All about the unexpected U.S. Open contender

He spoke CBSSports reporter Dottie Pepper after the victory and told her,

"Typical first victory. I’m at a loss for words. It just changed my life, really. I need a little bit of time to take it all in."

He is sponsored by TaylorMade golf who had some big time victories on Sunday. With Schauffele playing at a very high level right now, he seems unstoppable.

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But golf is a very unpredictable game. Courses in Europe are different than those in the U.S. Now Schauffele will have to focus if he wants to have another big performance in another major championship.

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