2022 Zurich Classic: Cantlay and Schauffele Make History In Louisiana

Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele are no strangers to playing together and on Thursday at the 2022 Zurich Classic, they leaned into that team chemistry and accomplished a historic feat.

Cantlay has had an up and down year to date, after starting 2022 with four straight top 10 finishes the 2021 FedEx Cup champion hit a bit of a slump as he failed to finish inside the top 25 in any event during a four-start stretch, the string of events included a missed cut at the 2022 Players Championship in March.

The World number 4 would have been feeling confident coming into this week, however, as he came into the week after a runner-up finish at last week’s RBC Heritage, in what was Cantlay’s first top 25 finish since the WM Phoenix Open in February.

“I feel like I’ve been playing pretty well this year, consistently well. I feel good about my game. I’ve had some very close calls this season. Sometimes it’s just how golf is, but you just keep knocking on the door, and eventually the door will fall down,” Patrick said prior to Thursday’s opening round at TPC Louisiana.

The same can’t be said of Cantlay’s partner for the week Xander Schauffele, it has been a tough year so far for the California native. Xander has just one top 10 finish in 2022 and he has missed the cut in two of his previous four starts prior to this week.

“It hasn’t been very good. It’s about time to catch some stride here and go on a nice little run to kind of cap off the season, and no better time to start than here with Pat,” Schauffele responded when asked to describe how his season has gone up to this point.

Little did the 28-year-old Xander know that he would soon spark life into his year just a couple of days later.

Schauffele and Cantlay made history on Thursday at the Zurich Classic

The duo had an electric opening-round during Thursday’s best ball format at TPC Louisiana. The round included eleven birdies, an eagle, and zero bogeys, as they not only sat on top of the leaderboard at the end of the first round but also had made tournament history with their opening round of 59. It was the lowest four-ball score a team has ever produced during one round of play at the Zurich Classic.

Cantlay and Schauffele’s incredible round was highlighted by three consecutive birdies to finish out their round, one of which came after Cantlay chipped in from off the green on 17 to keep the momentum of the round going and preserve the record-breaking day.

Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele finished T11 together at the last year’s Zurich Classic and both will be hoping that they can ride the momentum of their opening round to a victory here this year.

“It’s just the first quarter. So the buffer, we’re only one shot ahead, but we are going into a format on Friday that we really like. I think Xander and I really like alternate shot. It’s one of our strengths for the week, and we’re really looking forward to it,” Patrick said after their opening 59.

The pair clearly have no intention of taking their foot off the pedal and that could be an ominous sign for the rest of the field as the week progresses. For Schauffele, he will be hoping that this week is not only one where he breaks records, but also one that will “Kickstart” the rest of his year.