Xander Schauffele – Path to Stardom
At 26 years old, Xander Schauffele is already considered one of the best players on the PGA Tour.
Since he earned his PGA Tour card for the 2016-17 season, Schauffele has won four times, including the Tour Championship to close out the 2017 campaign and two events last season.
Currently ranked 12th in the Official World Golf Rankings and ranked as high as sixth at one point in his career (Jan. 6, 2019 following a win at the Sentry Tournament of Champions), Schauffele has already won $16,363,799 over his career (according to PGAtour.com).
GoAztecs.com recently decided to look at his career thus far, starting with his time as a Scripps Ranch High School star.
The High School Years
In 2011, Schauffele capture the 2011 CIF individual title in a playoff during his senior campaign. Schauffele, who was named CIF San Diego Section and Western League Player of the Year, received a No. 19 ranking in Golfweek's junior class of 2011. He recorded seven top-5 finishes in junior events in 2010. He was a runner-up at AJGA's ClubCorp Mission Hills Desert Junior, Toyota Tour Cups at Warner Springs, Bella Collina, at La Purisima and at the U.S. Junior Amateur.
The College Years
Schauffele came to The Mesa after spending a year at Long Beach State, where he was named a first-team All-Big West selection and the Big West Freshman of the Year in 2012. In his lone season at LBSU, Schauffele posted six top-10 finishes, including a victory at the OGIO-Santa Barbara Invitational in Santa Barbara, Calif., at 8-under 208.
In his first season with the Aztecs in 2012-13, Schauffele had the second-best scoring average on the team at 72.13. Competing in 13 tournaments as a sophomore, Schauffele placed in the top 10 in five of them. Schauffele particularly played well down the stretch over the final four tournaments, taking eighth at the ASU Thunderbird Invitational, tying for fourth at the Western Intercollegiate and tying for 10th in the Mountain West Championships, before tying for 41st at the NCAA Pullman Regional. For his efforts, Schauffele was named All-Mountain West selection and was named the MW Golfer of the Week on April 17 for his T4 at the Western Intercollegiate.
In 2013-14, Schauffele led the team with a 71.61 stroke average, rounds in the 60s (9), rounds below par (16) and even-par rounds (7). Schauffele was SDSU's top finisher in seven of the 12 events, had eight top-10 showings, five top-5 finishes and won the Lamkin Grips San Diego Classic at 11-under 205. Schauffele, who tied for fifth at the MW Championships, was named an All-MW selection for a second straight season, an All-West Region Team pick and was a three-time MW Golfer of the Week (March 19 for tying for sixth at the National Invitational Tournament, April 9 for taking fifth at the Aggie Invitational and April 16 for tying for sixth at the Western Intercollegiate).
In his final collegiate season in 2014-15, Schauffele put up his best numbers yet, leading the team once again with a 70.84 scoring average, rounds in the 60s (13), rounds below par (19) and even-par rounds (8, tied). He was San Diego State's low scorer in 11 of the 14 tournaments, had nine top-10 efforts, including a remarkable eight top-5 showings, four runner-up finishes and a win at the Barona Collegiate Cup on Feb. 9-10 at 17-under 199. Schauffele helped the Aztecs to a pair of team titles, including their third MW championship in five years. Schauffele racked up numerous accolades for his senior campaign, including being named a third-team Ping All-American, third-team Golfweek All-American and a Ping All-West Region Team selection. He also garnered all-MW honors for a third consecutive season and was a three-time MW Golfer of the Week. Schauffele and the Aztecs finished second at the NCAA New Haven Regional and 15th at the NCAA Championships.
For his SDSU career, Schauffele won two tournaments, while posting 22 top-10 finishes and 16 top-5 efforts. He was a seven-time MW Golfer of the Week winner and, coupled with his All-Big West honor in 2012 while at Long Beach State, made an all-conference team all four seasons. He owns school records in career scoring average (71.50 in 118 rounds played), most birdies in a single season (171 in 2014-15) and lowest score relation to par over 54 holes (17-under 199 at the Alister MacKenzie Invitational in October 2014).
The Professional Career
Following his collegiate career, Schauffele entered the 2015 Web.com Tour Qualifying Tournament. One of 74 players competing for 28 spots in the first stage at Southern Dunes Golf Club in Maricopa, Ariz., Schauffele tied for second at 14-under 274 to advance to the next stage. In the second stage at Oak Valley Golf Club in Beaumont, Calif., where 20 of the 68 competitors would move on, Schauffele tied for first at 13-under 275 to qualify for the final stage at PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. There, Schauffele tied for 40th to earn a spot into the Web.com Tour for the 2016 season.
In 2016, Schauffele finished 26th on the regular-season money list, missing a PGA Tour card for the 2017 season by just $900.00. However, in the ensuing Web.com playoffs, Schauffele finished 15th in the finals money list to earn his PGA Tour card.
The PGA Tour Career
In his rookie season in 2017, Schauffele played in 28 events, making 20 cuts. At the Greenbrier Classic, he birdied two of the last three holes for his first PGA Tour victory, coming in just his 23rd start at the age of 23. In his first appearance in the Tour Championship, Schauffele overcame a two-stroke deficit in the final round at East Lake with a 2-under 68 to claim a one-stroke victory over FedExCup champion Justin Thomas at 12-under 269. With the win, he became the first rookie to win the TOUR Championship in the FedExCup era. Schauffele, who also tied for fifth at the U.S. Open, was named the PGA Tour Rookie of the Year as voted on by his peers.
In 2018, Schauffele made the cut in 22 of the 27 tournaments he played in, finishing 15th in the FedExCup and advancing to the Tour Championship for the second straight year. Highlights for the season included a runner-up finish at The Players Championship and The Open Championship. At The Open, Schauffele played in the final pairing at Carnoustie, sharing the 54-hole lead with Kevin Kisner and Jordan Spieth.
Schauffele had another good season in 2019, winning a pair of events, while logging two runner-up finishes, a third-place outing, six top-10 finishes and 14 top-25 efforts. Schauffele, who began the WGC-HSBC Champions third round three shots behind 54-hole leader Tony Finau at the Sheshan International Golf Club in Shanghai, China, posted a 4-under 68 in the final round, before beating Finau with a birdie on the first playoff hole. In his very next tournament, trailing by five strokes to Gary Woodland at the Sentry Tournament of Champions, Schauffele recorded an 11-under 62 to win by a shot. Schauffele also had impressive finishes in majors, tying for second at The Masters and tying for third at the U.S. Open. The latter was his fourth top-5 finish in just his 10th career major. Schauffele led the FedExCup standings for a total of 12 weeks and finished second in the Tour Championship.
This season, Schauffele almost repeated at both the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions and the Sentry Tournament of Champions. Schauffele fell in a playoff to Rory McIlroy at the WGC-HSBC and then lost to Justin Thomas in a playoff at the Sentry TOC. Schauffele is currently 12th in the FedExCup standings as of March 8.