Xander Schauffele got the major monkey off his back but still has 'unchecked boxes' to chase

12/06/2024 13:00

PINEHURST, N.C. – Xander Schauffele finally climbed the summit that was Mount Valhalla and claimed him first major championship at the PGA Championship in May.

The win propelled Schauffele to a career high of No. 2 in the Official World Golf Ranking but the climb to the top of the game continues in earnest this week.

“All of us are climbing this massive mountain. At the top of the mountain is Scottie Scheffler. I won this today, but I'm still not that close to Scottie Scheffler in the big scheme of things," Schauffele said after winning the Wanamaker Trophy. "I got one good hook up there in the mountain up on that cliff, and I'm still climbing. I might have a beer up there on that side of the hill there and enjoy this, but it's not that hard to chase when someone is so far ahead of you."

Schauffele may have had that celebratory beer but he's saving the real celebration for later this month when he's back in his native San Diego. He made it clear that there's more work to do, noting that he's only checked one box.

"Just a lot of unchecked boxes," he said.

Having shed the label of the Best Player Never to Win a Major, the knee-jerk reaction is to say that Schauffele's breakthrough will open the floodgates. Adam Scott and Justin Rose, who both rose to No. 1 in the world after winning their first major, are still stuck at one and know all too well how tricky winning the second major can be. But NBC golf on-course reporter Jim "Bones" Mackay contends that it's way easier for a player to win a second major than his first.

"It would not surprise me if Xander picks off another major before this year is over, so why not here at the U.S. Open?" Mackay said during a media call ahead of the 124th U.S. Open.

Mackay speaks from experience. As Phil Mickelson's longtime caddie, he watched Mickelson have several close calls, including here at Pinehurst No. 2 in 1999 when he finished second to Payne Stewart. Mickelson didn't claim his first major until age 34 at the 2004 Masters but went on to win five more to match the career total of Lee Trevino and Nick Faldo. Mackay said one can draw a comparison between Schauffele and Mickelson, although Schauffele didn't have to wait nearly as long to get the major monkey off his back.

"I just think that Xander is a very, very wise 30-year-old," Mackay said. "You listen to the comments that he makes in his pre and postgame time with the press, and I think that it speaks to the headspace that he's in, and it's very, very comfortable and solid … I think he's a guy that's here now for the long term, and I think that he has a chance to run off a few major championships here in very short order."

Schauffele's game tends to translate well to the U.S. Open. In the last seven years, he's the only player to finish in the top 15 in every single U.S. Open. Could he pick off another this week and go back-to-back?

"Is he going to translate the momentum he garnered off the PGA into this setup?" NBC's Notah Begay III wondered during the same media call last week. "I think it does set up for well him, but backing up a finish like that can be a difficult task."

Schauffele said he's not one to live in the past; he'll look back with fond memories of the PGA later. He’s ready to chase major No. 2 and spoke about how the Memorial last week, where as he put it, "par was your friend," was good prep for this week's thorough examination. Typically a U.S. Open exposes any weakness in a player's game. Schauffele knows he'll need his best stuff, especially going up against the likes of Scottie Scheffler, who remains the player on top of the mountain.

"Every week we play, he seems to build a bigger lead, and somehow make the mountain even taller for all of us to climb," Schauffele said of Scheffler. "That’s all he’s been doing, and hats off to him for being so consistent and playing at such a high level for such a long time. I believe I can do it, but it’s going to take some time."