OWINGS MILLS, Md. – Xander Schauffele and East Lake Golf Club have been love at first sight. But for the first time in his TOUR career, Schauffele will watch the TOUR Championship from home.

The world No. 3 finished outside the top 30 of the FedExCup after a lethargic finish at the BMW Championship ended a disappointing season. Schauffele was tied for 31st at BMW as he signed his scorecard on Sunday afternoon, projected well outside the bubble.

“There's nothing worse than trying your hardest and playing like a**,” Schauffele said. “It's the worst combo. Some of us do it, some of us don't. It's been a while since I have, and I did it for a few weeks now, and it sucked.”

Schauffele had never finished worse than 15th in the FedExCup and had held the longest active streak of TOUR Championship appearances, making it to East Lake eight years in a row. Schauffele won the TOUR Championship as a rookie in 2017 and twice finished with the low 72-hole score during the Starting Strokes era.

The result is telling of Schauffele’s year, which has been his worst, both in consistency and high-end results. Schauffele notched a career-low three top 10s and didn’t notch a runner-up or better for the first time since he reached the PGA TOUR in 2016.

Schauffele’s year was derailed from the beginning. After playing through a rib injury at The Sentry, Schauffele stepped away to let the injury heal. He returned two months later to mixed results. He shot 81 in the final round of THE PLAYERS Championship, then finished T12-T8 in his next two starts, the latter marking his fourth top 10 at the Masters.

Schauffele continued his steady play and amassed a season that an average TOUR player would be thrilled to produce. But his expectations were much higher after he won two majors in 2024 and formally announced himself as a star.

“At some point I'm going to sit back and reflect and try and learn something from it. Yeah, it was mentally a long season for me even though it was short,” Schauffele said. “So, physically I feel a lot better, which is a plus. No sort of recurring injury, which is a plus. About the only positives I can think of so far.”

That star power was seldom on display in 2025, even after the American fully healed. Schauffele, typically one of the best drivers in the game, finished outside the top 100 in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee. He’s also consistently been one of the best putters since he reached the TOUR. Schauffele ranked outside the top 125 in putting, tinkering until the very last round of the Playoffs. He swapped his typical gamer Toulon Design Las Vegas Prototype 7CH (the putter he won both his majors with, and played for the first three rounds this week) to an Odyssey Toulon Le Mans Tour center shaft on Sunday at Caves Valley, according to Callaway Tour Manager Johnny Thompson.

“I could have shot 59 and not gotten to next week,” Schauffele said. “Pretty depressing to think of it like that, but that's how I thought when I woke up, so I figured might as well have something different to look at and scare my old putter into working again at some point.”

Schauffele needed to finish T21 at Caves Valley, at a minimum, to have a mathematical chance to qualify for the TOUR Championship. But Schauffele shot 4-over 74 in the first round and could never battle back. At 7 over after 54 holes, he salvaged a 4-under round Sunday, but it was too late.

Schauffele’s postseason run might be over, but he will spend the next month hoping to refine his game for the Ryder Cup. Schauffele said Sunday that he expects to play the Procore Championship, as many on the U.S. Team are expected to, two weeks before the Ryder Cup.

That’s the next time we will see Schauffele. Mr. East Lake will be watching next week’s TOUR Championship at home, just like the rest of us.