Schauffele was born on October 25, 1993, in San Diego, California, to Chen Ping-Yi and Stefan Schauffele.[2] His mother was born in Taiwan, but grew up in Japan before moving to the United States.[3] His father Stefan was born in Stuttgart to a French mother and a German father.[4] Stefan was an aspiring decathlete. While traveling to the German national training center at age 20, he was hit by a drunk driver and suffered career-ending injuries.[5][6] During recovery, he became interested in golf, and later moved to the United States. He worked at a golf academy in San Diego and as an assistant golf professional in Hawaii.[7]
Schauffele's parents met at San Diego's United States International University in 1988 and married three months afterwards.[8] They then moved to Germany, where Xander's elder brother Nico was born, before returning to San Diego.[9]
Schauffele's father introduced him to golf at age nine, and they joined Bernardo Heights Country Club.[8] Stefan was Xander's only swing coach from that point[10] until Xander was aged 30.[11] Stefan's teaching philosophy relies heavily on basic ball flight laws and golf club mechanics. As a result, Xander did not see his own swing until about age 18.[12] Schauffele began working with Chris Como, formerly a coach of Tiger Woods and Bryson DeChambeau, in November 2023.[11][13]
Two of Schauffele's great-grandfathers played soccer in Europe. Johann Hoffmann played for the Austria national football team and won multiple Austrian, Bohemian, and French national titles. After playing football for VfB Stuttgart, Richard Schauffele excelled in track and field, garnering over 40 titles in discus, javelin and shot put.[7] Xander himself played soccer in his youth before focusing on golf,[14] after his soccer coach refused to reposition him from a defensive midfielder to offensive midfielder.[7]
Prior to his sophomore year, Schauffele transferred to San Diego State University (SDSU), where eventually he would play out his college career and graduate in 2015. During his three years at SDSU, Schauffele was a Ping and Golfweek Third Team All-American. Scholastically, he was twice awarded the Mountain West Conference All-Academic Team Award. At SDSU, he holds the records for all-time lowest tournament score against par (−17); all-time career scoring average (71.50); as well as the seasonal records for par-5 performance (4.5135); birdies (171) and eagles (9).[17]
Schauffele accumulated a collegiate record that featured 27 top-10s, 19 of which were top-fives, with four of these being runners-up and three wins (from a total of 50 tournaments). He was ranked in the top 10 of the World Amateur Golf Ranking at the time he turned professional in 2015.[16][17][19]
Professional career
After turning professional in June 2015, Schauffele entered the 2015 Web.com Tour Qualifying Tournament in fall. He was runner-up in first stage at Southern Dunes GC in Maricopa, Arizona. He went on to win second stage at Oak Valley GC in Beaumont, California, and ultimately, narrowly, earned his Web.com Tour card in the finals in Florida in a tie for 45th.[20][21]
2016 Web.com Tour
In 2016, Schauffele played a full season (23 events) on the Web.com Tour. He finished 26th on the regular-season money list, missing a PGA Tour card for 2017 by less than $1,000, but went on to earn a card through the Web.com Tour Finals by finishing 15th on the Finals money list (excluding the 25 regular-season graduates).[22]
2016–17 PGA Tour: 2 wins; Rookie of the Year
Schauffele made his PGA Tour debut at the CareerBuilder Challenge in La Quinta, California. In June 2017, at the 2017 U.S. Open held at Erin Hills, Schauffele recorded a bogey-free 6-under-par 66, the first time a player has returned a bogey-free round of 66 or better in their first appearance in U.S. Open.[23] He subsequently became one of only 15 players to ever reach 10 under par at a U.S. Open.[24] He eventually finished in a tie for fifth place, earning him an exemption into the 2018 championship.
Schauffele qualified for the end-of-season Tour Championship by moving up to 26th in the standings, from 33rd at the start of the FedEx Cup Playoffs.[25] There he birdied the 72nd hole to claim his second tour victory, by one stroke over Justin Thomas, and become the first rookie to win the Tour Championship. It was also the first time a rookie had won any FedEx Cup playoff event.[26] The win moved Schauffele to third place in the final FedEx Cup standings, bettering the previous best mark by a rookie held by Jordan Spieth by four positions, and gave him a three-year exemption on the PGA Tour, through the 2019–20 season.
During 2017, Schauffele rose to 32nd in the Official World Golf Ranking, up 267 spots from his 2016 year-end position of 299. He was voted Rookie of the Year for 2017 by his peers.[27]
Schauffele began the 2018 FedEx Cup Playoffs in 28th position in the standings. Entering the third of four events in the playoff series, the 2018 BMW Championship, he was 41st, needing to move up at least eleven spots to advance to the Tour Championship. He finished in a tie for third to rise to 18th position. That finish allowed him the opportunity to attempt to defend his 2017 Tour Championship title.[32] Schauffele ultimately finished T7 at the 2018 Tour Championship, while placing 15th in the season-long FedEx Cup.[33]
2018 European Tour
Schauffele joined the 2018 European Tour as an associate member. With his win at the 2018 WGC-HSBC Champions, Schauffele rose in the European Tour's Order of Merit, the year-long points race dubbed the European Tour Race to Dubai, to 4th position.[34] Schauffele entered the European Tour final event, the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai, in 5th position. With a final round score of 6-under-par 66, which equaled the lowest score of the day, Schauffele finished T16. This ensured a season-ending 4th position on the Order of Merit and participation in the 2018 European Tour's bonus pool.[35]
In April, Schauffele tied for second in the Masters Tournament, one stroke behind champion Tiger Woods. It was his third top-five in eight starts at major championships. He led the field with 25 birdies, becoming the third player since 1980 to have 25 or more birdies in a single Masters, joining Phil Mickelson (25 in 2001) and Jordan Spieth (28 in 2015).[39] In June, he finished tied for 3rd at the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach Golf Links in Pebble Beach, California.[40] At The Open Championship in July 2019, he became the first player to have their driver fail The R&A's conformity test.[41]
In early August 2019, Schauffele placed 4th in the inaugural 2019 Wyndham Rewards Top 10.[42] Through the playoffs, he fell to 8th in the standings entering the Tour Championship; this gave him a 6-shot deficit to the leader, Justin Thomas, under the new handicapping system. He had erased the deficit after the first round with a score of 6-under-par 64 and was tied for the lead going into the second round.[43] He ultimately finished in second place, but took maximum world ranking points having returned the lowest aggregate score.[44]
In December 2019, Schauffele played on the U.S. team at the 2019 Presidents Cup at Royal Melbourne Golf Club in Australia. The U.S. team won 16–14. Schauffele went 3–2–0 and won his Sunday singles match against International team star and veteran Adam Scott. Golf Digest called Schauffele the "unsung hero" of the U.S. team.[45]
2021: Olympic Gold
At the 16th tee of the final round of the 2021 Masters Tournament, Schauffele was in second place, two strokes behind the leader. However, at that hole, he shot a triple bogey, and ultimately finished third.
In August, Schauffele recorded a final-round of 67 to win the Olympic gold medal; he made an up-and-down for par on the final hole to beat Slovakian Rory Sabbatini by one shot.[46] With the accomplishment, Schauffele became the first American since 1904 to win an Olympic gold medal in golf.[47] In September, Schauffele played on the U.S. team in the 2021 Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits in Kohler, Wisconsin. The U.S. team won 19–9 and Schauffele went 3–1–0, winning in both fourball and foursomes, then losing his Sunday singles match against Rory McIlroy.
Having only previously worked with his dad, Stefan, from the very beginning, Xander made a coaching change and started working with Chris Como for the 2024 season.[53]
In May 2024, Schauffele won his first major with a birdie on the final hole in the PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club.[54] Schauffele won the tournament with a score of 21 under par, which is a record low for a major championship.[55] He beat Bryson DeChambeau by one stroke after DeChambeau also birdied the final hole.[56]
In July, Schauffele won the Open Championship at Royal Troon, the second major of his career. Schauffele became the first golfer to win two majors in one season with a final-round 65.[57] He also became the first golfer to win multiple majors in the same year since Brooks Koepka won the 2018 U.S. Open and PGA Championship.[58] Schauffele pulled away from a crowded leaderboard with a 31 on the back nine in the final round to beat Justin Rose and Billy Horschel by two shots.[59]
Personal life
Schauffele met his wife, Maya, in college at San Diego State University. They were married in 2021.[60] Schauffele has several relatives who live near Tokyo, and the two have traveled to Japan together.[61] She caddied for Schauffele at the 2024 Masters Tournament Par 3 Contest.[61]
Schauffele is an enthusiastic cigar smoker.[62] His father introduced him to cigars at the age of 10, and his favorite cigar is the Montecristo No. 2.[63] He has been featured by Cigar Aficionado.[64]
NT = No tournament
"T" = Tied
QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
Note that the Championship and Invitational were discontinued from 2022. The Champions was discontinued from 2023.
* As of December 31, 2020. Note that there is double counting of money and finishes for majors and World Golf Championships between PGA Tour and European Tour stats.
† indicates the event was won in a playoff; ‡ indicates the event was won wire-to-wire in 72-holes; # indicates the event was won by an amateur 1871 No championship; 1915–1919 cancelled due to World War I; 1940–1945 cancelled due to World War II; 2020 cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic
