Waste Management: Xander Schauffele Stays on Hot Streak

Since the PGA Tour returned to play amidst the global COVID-19 pandemic, Xander Schauffele has played in 16 events. In those 16 events, Schauffele has made every cut and only has one finish outside the top-25.

Despite this hot streak, which includes eight top-10 finishes, Schauffele has not won a tournament since the 2019 Sentry Tournament of Champions.

Currently sitting at No. 4 in the most recent World Golf Rankings, it was no surprise that Schauffele was among the favorites entering this week. Only Jon Rahm and Justin Thomas entered the week with better odds than the Las Vegas native.

Xander Schauffele got out to a steady start with pars on four of the first five holes.

The only exception to this trend was a near hole-in-one on the par-3 12th. After leaving himself with just over four feet, he easily tapped in for his first birdie of the day.

Schauffele stepped his game up even more after a good start. The 27-year old birdied three of the next four holes but bogeyed the par-3 16th when his chip got caught on the fringe. He finished his first nine at a 3-under par 33.

Schauffele got even better after turning the corner with birdies on three of the first four holes of his final nine. This included birdie putts of 8, 15, and 27 feet in addition to a 6-foot par putt on the par-4 2nd.

Schauffele parred hole No. 5, but struggles around the green on the par-4 6th resulted in a bogey. He parred the final three holes to finish with a 2-under par 33 on the final nine.

After shooting a 5-under par 66 on Thursday, Schauffele currently sits in a three-way tie for sixth place. This performance should not come as a surprise as Schauffele has finished within the top-20 in each of his previous three trips to the Waste Management Phoenix Open.