2021 Ryder Cup: Power ranking the top 10 players at Whistling Straits

It’s hard to believe Xander Schauffele is a Ryder Cup rookie. He was one of the top snubs in 2018 considering he was in the top 20 in the world rankings and fresh off a run to the Tour Championship a year after he won it.

The X Man didn’t qualify for one of the Americans’ six automatic spots, but he was a no-brainer captain’s pick.

It’s worth mentioning that his Olympics win did not count toward the points, where he finished eighth place with 12,730.2 points behind Patrick Cantlay in sixth (13,391.33) and Tony Finau (12,970.65) in seventh.

Schauffele was a stalwart at the 2019 Presidents Cup. In his debut, the Californian went 3-2-0 at Royal Melbourne and picked up a singles win over Australia’s native son, Adam Scott.

Schauffele got the monkey off his back this summer in Tokyo with his first win in over two years. He played uber-consistent golf in between, but there’s nothing that builds confidence like a trophy (or gold medal, in this case).

The 27-year-old has missed just two cuts in 2021. He made the cut at three majors, including T-3rd at the Masters and T-7th at the U.S. Open.

Schauffele’s last appearance was at the Tour Championship where he finished T-5th in the final FedEx Cup standings and had the third lowest gross score on the week.

He gained strokes in every category on the PGA Tour last season and was fifth in total SG (1.484). That included 14th in approach (.65) and 16th in putting (.48).

This will be his debut at Whistling Straits.