2024 PGA Championship: Top 10 power rankings at Valhalla

That had to sting.

Xander Schauffele was the 36- and 54-hole leader at last week’s Wells Fargo Championship. For a player who had done everything this year but win, grabbing a trophy at a Signature Event was set to be just what the doctor ordered for Schauffele.

Instead, he put it in neutral while McIlroy played nearly flawless golf on the weekend to win his fourth title at Quail Hollow.

“Yeah, I felt like I controlled the ball off the tee pretty well, some of those fairways are pretty daunting. Hit some incredible iron shots that I haven't been able to do in quite some time, you know, right to left and left to right,” Schauffele was transcribed by Tee Scripts. “Overall, I just need to clean up my short game, it's always been a deciding factor whether I win a tournament or not, sort of a trigger stat for me, and it definitely hurt me today.”

Schauffele tipped his cap to an incredible performance by McIlroy while also acknowledging his missteps.

Fortunately for him, he doesn’t have to wait long to turn the page. Just like he’s hungry for his first win of 2024 on the PGA Tour, the X Man is even more unsatiated by a lack of major championships.

When he burst onto the scene as a rookie coming out of San Diego State, winning one of golf’s four biggest prizes seemed inevitable.

At age 30, he’s still got plenty of time. It’s time to strike while the iron (and his irons) are hot.

Schauffele comes to Valhalla in excellent form. He’s been vacuuming up world ranking points to reach No. 3, the highest mark of his career.

On the year, the Californian owns eight top-10s and no missed cuts. He’s finished outside the top-25 just once in 11 starts.

Last week’s solo second finish was his second runner-up of 2024, joining T-2nd at the Players Championship. Schauffele rarely tees it up at non-Signature Events, so what he’s doing is even more impressive considering the talent he’s routinely competing against.

Schauffele ranks second on the PGA Tour in Strokes Gained: Total (1.99), only behind the torrid pace of Scottie Scheffler.

Schauffele is also second in SG: Tee-to-Green (1.685), seventh in SG: Approach (.656), and eighth in SG: Off-the-Tee (.731). He has no weaknesses other than being able to close the deal on Sundays.

Schauffele led the field last week in SG: Approach (7.749) and was second in SG: Off-the-Tee (5.656).

His consistency is similar across his career at the majors. In 27 starts, Schauffele’s made 24 cuts with top-10s coming at a 50% clip. Some of those are backdoor top-10s, to be fair, but he’s also had his fair share of times in contention.