Overlook Xander Schauffele at the PGA Championship this week at your peril because he certainly knows his way around Quail Hollow Club. One only needs to look at his last two appearances at what's now known as the Truist Championship (formerly the Wells Fargo) for proof.
In 2023, Schauffele shot 15-under to finish second to Wyndham Clark, who went on to win the U.S. Open that summer. And in 2024, he shot 12-under to finish second to Rory McIlroy, which one shouldn't take as an insult, as Rory has won at Quail Hollow four times.
Between the 2024 Wells Fargo and now, Schauffele has won the PGA Championship and The Open Championship, not bad for someone who has basically been overlooked in favor of McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler, Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa, and plenty of others. But after last year, at least nobody asks him anymore about when he'll finally win his first major.
But as he prepares to enter a major as the defending champion for the first time, the world No. 3 opened up about the effort it takes to win one.
“I feel like when you're trying to win a major championship, you know, in the past, you hit—in the course of 72 holes—you'll hit a roadblock at some point,” he said, adding that he had read something like that in an article by Randy Smith, Scottie Scheffler’s instructor.
According to Schauffele, Smith likened it to Scheffler being a handyman who has a toolbox to use when trying to win a tournament. And in Scottie’s case, he can do just about anything with the tools he has.
“I like that sort of reference because it's sort of like how handy can you be,” he continued.
Then he compared that to the situation at his last hole at last year's PGA Championship at Valhalla when his ball was in the fringe of the fairway bunker at the 18th in the final round.
“I was trying to get it somewhere down on the green so I could hit it up on the green and 2-putt and make it easy for myself,” he explained. “But it was dramatic, and I felt like I had to dig pretty deep into my toolbox on sort of how to get the job done.”
He had his feet in the bunker, below the ball on the fringe. He was only able to get the ball short of the green. But with his next, he pitched up to about six feet and then made the putt for the victory.
Two months later, he added his second major at Royal Troon.
“You hit roadblocks at every point in any tournament, and especially at the major championships, they seem to pop up more often,” he added.
When he was challenged by situations on the golf course in Scotland, he said he was able to fall back on his experiences in the PGA and tell himself he had just done it, won a major. He could do it again.
And now, the second major of 2025 is upon him, but he is looking forward to it. He feels his rib injury is sufficiently healed and that he’s ready to go. That has changed his attitude.
When he’s in position to win, he doesn’t dwell on anything that can bring him down. Earlier in the year, recovering from injury, he was doing what he called “nitpicking” every swing, every shot. But when he has a chance to win, that goes away.
“You're on a mission to do one thing, and that's to win. It's sort of a whatever-it-takes mentality, and you're not sitting there nitpicking yourself on the small things,” he explained. “If I had to hit a shot lefty on the last hole, I wasn't going to be rattled.”
He likes the Quail Hollow course. He knows what it takes to win majors, and that may help him get it over the line again in Charlotte.
“I think it fits my eye, and for whatever reason, I've been up at the top of the leaderboard for last two years. So, I don't see why this year should be an issue,” he said.
Will he be planning a champions dinner again next year?