SDSU alum Schauffele joined golf’s elite in 2024. Then the injury bug bit

Xander Schauffele during the third round of the PGA Championship May He ultimately won the major at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville Ky File photo by Matthew Maxey Icon Sportswire NORTH BERWICK Scotland The best thing Xander Schauffele has going for him in the worst season of his career is a good attitude That much was evident Tuesday when the San Diego State alum walked into the media center at the Scottish Open and saw his picture It was on a wall beneath a sign that revealed TOILETS That was heartwarming Schauffele mentioned with a grin that never seems too far away Summed up how I feel about what s going on right now I veritably chuckled when I saw that one He is the only American to win the Scottish Open over the last years He defends his title next week in the British Open a preeminence that made him a double major winner in which allowed him to take his place among the elite in golf That can feel like much longer than a year ago Schauffele had reason to have big expectations this year What he didn t see coming was a twinge in his ribs to start the season in Hawaii that turned out to be much worse an intercostal strain and a cartilage tear He missed two months with the first vital injury of his career He has not been the same since then with only one top- finish a tie for eighth in the Masters His greatest achievement was extending his cut streak on the PGA Tour to consecutive tournaments the longest such streak in years I seemingly downplayed it in my own mind Yeah you ll be fine you ve been playing great golf you just came off the best year of your career and I ve backed it up at present with the worst year of my career It s been a hot one This is not where he expected to be coming into the final stretch of the year He is right now among a logjam of golfers at the Genesis Scottish Open tied at -under Chris Gotterup leads at -under The belief is good he disclosed I don t think I ve given myself a lot of reasons to believe that I m playing OK It s been a pretty bad year to be entirely honest I think the best part of my competition has allegedly been my mental just 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 Solid round of - on Friday at the Genesis Scottish Open for Xander Schauffele Hit it really really well best I ve seen in a while If the short challenge was on it could have been a low one but unfortunately putts burned edges At this time T He s trending pic twitter com akgPldFPuD Xander Schauffele Legion XanderLegion July The injury is no longer an issue The contest has looked good at times What he lacks is a spark which comes from results to get him going Schauffele has great discipline that gets lost behind his San Diego vibe He chose to not add tournaments to his schedule to make up for lost time even though he finds himself chasing this late in the year He won twice as a rookie including the Tour Championship Chasing is not something he does The Ryder Cup is not an issue Winning the PGA Championship and the British Open has allowed him to stay at No in the U S standings But he is at No in the FedEx Cup only the top make the postseason and these two weeks on links golf could go a long way toward making sure he gets there 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 he revealed So any expectation I had of whatever I thought I was capable of doing from a feel standpoint has been sort of reset and I am in full chase mode like a kid He hopes links golf will be part of the tonic Part of Schauffele wishes he could have come earlier across the Atlantic where he could play golf that consists of seeing the target and hitting the ball nothing more complicated than that Something about being here you start taking your hands off the wheel and that s how I played my best he mentioned Schauffele was in peak form a year ago He broke through with his first major at the PGA Championship that petitioned a lot of him on a soft program at Valhalla particularly the last hole He had to stand in a bunker to play a shot from the rough with a -iron the ball well above his feet water down the right side From there he pitched to feet and swirled in the birdie putt for a one-shot preeminence over Bryson DeChambeau Two months later he withstood rain and wind at Royal Troon with a in the final round to give him a second major He was No in the world Scottie Scheffler was still miles ahead but Schauffele was at a point where he felt he could win wherever he played Those were happy times This only feels like the worst of times There is also something about the chase that takes him back to being a kid when he wasn t the highly recruited star and was virtually an unknown before he earned his recognition This feels like starting over I ve been spoiled to play at a pretty high level for quite various time he revealed This has been a fun experience to try to get back on the horse