Xander Schauffele ‘encouraged’ after wrapping PGA Championship title defense

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Xander Schauffele’s time as PGA champion has come to a close, but he still found a silver lining after a frustrating week at Quail Hollow Club.

Schauffele triumphed a year ago at Valhalla for his first career major, following it with another major win two months later at The Open at Royal Troon. In his first stint as a defending champ at a major, Schauffele struggled just to make the cut on the number and then couldn’t get much going on the weekend.

His 3-under 68 in the final round featured five birdies and an eagle, but it was his only round under par this week on the par-71 layout. Sitting outside the top 30 upon signing his scorecard, Schauffele’s run of 12 straight top-20 finishes in the majors will end with what will be his worst finish in a major since missing the cut at the 2022 Masters.

“If we had four more days stacked up right now, I feel like I’d have a pretty good chance,” Schauffele said after finishing the week at 1 under. “Just kind of was in better form, and then I had a few things go awry in my swing and made my approach pretty bad. Just kind of lost control of the golf ball there midweek, unfortunately.”

Schauffele’s final round was highlighted by an eagle on the par-4 eighth hole, where he chipped in from just short of the green, and he was 5 under on the day through 15 holes before getting stung by the "Green Mile." His approach from a fairway bunker on No. 16 found the water, leading to his second double bogey of the week on the hole, and he followed with a bogey on No. 17 before birdieing the home hole.

After missing two months earlier this season because of a rib injury, Schauffele had shown signs of progress in recent weeks while racking up four straight finishes of T18 or better. But that momentum stalled this week at Quail Hollow, where he was among the best drivers in the field but struggled with his irons while ranking near the bottom in Strokes Gained: Approach among the 74 players to make the cut.

“Just didn’t have enough to score well,” Schauffele said. “But I feel like I’m playing a lot better than what I’m doing. So just got to hang tough.”

Schauffele noted that this week’s title defense didn’t quite feel like his other similar experiences on TOUR – with a rotating venue, he viewed it as more of a fresh start and wasn’t presented with a flood of nostalgia from his watershed moment last year in Louisville, Kentucky. But despite finishing his final round before the leaders teed off to begin theirs, Schauffele found reason for optimism as he remains in search of his first win on TOUR since capturing The Open in July.

“I’m encouraged, I am,” he said. “Like I said, I’d love to go another 72 holes starting tomorrow. Played a lot better today. I shot 3 under, and it felt like I probably left three or four shots out there pretty easily. That’s kind of how it goes.”