It’s been a year to remember for Xander Schauffele, particularly when wearing the red, white and blue. This summer, he won a gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics.
This fall, Schauffele went 3-1-0 for the winning American team.
He also rose to a career high fourth in the Official World Golf Rankings in 2021.
It’s a good time to be Xander, who got to kick back for a few weeks after Whistling Straits before returning to action this week at The Summit Club.
Schauffele is a Las Vegas resident, so it’s likely he’s taken a peak at this course before. He’s got good finishes in desert venues with a solo second at the 2020 CJ Cup in Las Vegas at Shadow Creek and T-2nd at the 2021 Waste Management Phoenix Open.
The San Diego State alum has been a very well-rounded player since he’s been on the PGA Tour. That continued in the 2020-21 season. Schauffele was fifth in total strokes gained (1.484) and was a positive in every category, including 14th in approach (.65).
We don’t know how difficult of a test players are up against this week, but I don’t think they’re going to set up the course too out of control. If lots of birdies are required, that’s suitable for the 27-year-old who was 12th in birdie average (4.28) and seventh in scoring average (69.859).
Schauffele comes to the CJ Cup on a streak of five made cuts, as well as seven of his last eight. There’s no cut to worry about this week, but it shows his ability to almost always beat at least half the field.