Joining the greatest at Augusta National
By Bill Felber
The X Factor
Xander Schauffele is still seeking his first Major win. But he has performed consistently enough in those events to already threaten the top 200. A win at the Masters would probably put him over the threshold statistically.
Since debuting in 2017, Schauffele has posted two runner-up finishes – the 2018 British and the 2019 Masters. He tied for third at the 2019 U.S. Open, tied for fifth in 20-17 and took solo fifth in 2020.
He has seven top 10s in the Majors since 2017. That puts his peak average coming to Augusta at -0.84.
It requires a peak score slightly better than -1.00 to crack the game’s all-time top 200 greatest, but Schauffele could probably get there with a victory.
Give him that win with a score of -2.50 and his peak average climbs to -1.40. He would fly up to about 115th in a tie with David Duval and Vijay Singh at -1.40.
It would also position Schauffele, with continued summer success, to climb even higher. With top 10 showings in a couple of the year’s three remaining Majors, it’s possible to project Schauffele up to about -1.50, a score that would be good enough to lift him into the game’s top 100 all-time.
Among those presently at or close to -1.50 for peak performance are such legendary names as Henry Cotton and Peter Thomson.