To put a fine point on how much things have changed for Xander Schauffele in the past year, he unwittingly disclosed the difference between being a two-time major champion and the struggles he’s faced in coming back from injury in 2025.
Schauffele, who remains third in the Official World Golf Ranking despite not contending in any tournaments for the bulk of this season, was asked at the Genesis Scottish Open on Tuesday how his life changed after winning the British Open at Royal Troon following his victory at the PGA Championship in 2024.
“I drank a little bit more than I normally do, that was probably the biggest change that I had in my life, trending towards an alcoholic. It’s been awesome,” Schauffele said, laughing.
Then, in trying to explain the frustrations of a season that has seen him post just a single top-10 finish, Schauffele deadpanned about what he saw upon entering the media center at the Renaissance Club.
“It was nice to see my photo out by the toilet. That was heartwarming,” he joked. “Summed up how I feel about what's going on right now. I actually chuckled when I saw that one.”
The state of his game, however, has been no laughing matter as his title defense at Royal Portrush looms next week.
While fretting about the possible U.K. tabloid headlines he might have conjured up with his drinking and bathroom humor, Schauffele also acknowledged a hard truth about his season.
“It’s just bad across the board,” he said. “I mean—there’s a lot of parts. There isn’t just one.”
To be fair, it would have been difficult to top last year, which saw Schauffele win those two major championships and post a whopping 15 top-10 finishes. He finished in the top 10 at all four majors.
But Schauffele has not been the same since returning from an injury that caused him to shut it down from early January until March. Described as a small cartilage tear and an intercostal strain, Schauffele, 31, returned at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, shot 77-81 on the weekend at the Players Championship, and has experienced only glimmers of his great form from a year ago.
“I’d say the belief is good. I don’t think I’ve given myself a lot of reasons to believe that I’m playing O.K. It’s been a pretty bad year to be completely honest,” he said. “I feel like I haven’t tried to add on too many other events, and I’ve tried to just play to get to an incredible place with less starts, which is really hard to do these days.
“I’m trying to do a lot of things, and I think the best part of my game has probably been my mental fortitude, whatever you want to call it, just to try to stay positive and behave as if I am playing really well. But coming off a year like last year, getting hurt, coming back, my expectations and playing ability have not cued up very nicely.”
Schauffele, who began working with instructor Chris Como early in 2024 and saw immediate results, said it’s been a matter of not feeling comfortable with many of the changes he made a year ago and being unable to return to a place where he simply aimed at the target and swung the club.
It’s a bit more technical than that but Schauffele explained that “it’s been a weird year for me just from coming off the year I had last year into sort of what I did just kind of disappearing and then playing bad coming out of it.
“So any expectation I had of whatever I thought I was capable of doing, from a feel standpoint last year, has been sort of reset and I am in full chase mode, like a kid.”
For example, Schauffele is 57th in FedEx Cup points, which means while he is more or less safe to make the FedEx Cup playoffs starting field of 70, he’s not a lock for the top-50 BMW Championship field—which also assures a spot in all of the signature events in 2026.
Schauffele, who has nine PGA Tour victories, has never failed to make it to the Tour Championship for the top 30 players, starting with his rookie year in 2017.
Being back in the links golf environment has put Schauffele in a good place, he said. The varying conditions are something he enjoys and Schauffele is a past winner of the Scottish Open in 2022 at the same course.
He tied for 41st at the 2019 Open at Royal Portrush, where Shane Lowry won.
“I just remember it being the hardest rain I’ve ever played in,” he said. “Almost to where you're like, wow, we’re still golfing, you know. That’s sort of what I remember. But I remember a few holes, not any one specifically, but like I said, I always enjoy the challenge. So looking forward to re-learning the course.”
As for this week, Schauffele is again hoping to find some form—and some peace.
“I’m trying to get into some sort of contention to try and feel something again, other than upset,” Schauffele said. “I think I’ve just been angry-ish. That’s like been the biggest emotion of this is frustrating, versus why we love playing to be in contention and kind of see what you can do.
“But that part’s been humbling. So you know, it’s a battle, and I’m going to try and win it.”
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Xander Schauffele Describes ‘Full Chase Mode’ of a Frustrating 2025 Season.