Xander Schauffele: How his father shaped the Open champion's golf career

02/09/2024 17:00

The story of Xander Schauffele and golf is one that is quite complex and involves several twists and turns along the way but one thing is for sure: it likely wouldn’t have come about without the influence of his father.

Schauffele’s father was a promising German decathlete until he was struck by a car while on his way to training. While he survived the accident, he would never be able to enjoy sport in the same way.

Stefan was in and out of hospital for years, enduring a string of operations, and during his rehab process one of his doctors recommended he take up golf as a way to stay active and improve his range of motion.

He got involved with an academy in San Diego after moving to the United States in 1988 and also spent two years as an assistant pro at Princeville's Makai Course on Kauai in Hawaii before the family returned to Southern California.

Almost as soon as Xander could walk, he would whack balls with plastic clubs all over the house.

By the time he advanced to genuine clubs at the age of nine, his father would only take him on the course provided he could carry his own bag for the entire 18 holes.

During Christmas, he surprised Xander with a membership to Bernardo Heights, where he would go with two other buddies to play as often as possible.

"I told him you can go play every day," Stefan said. "And he did. He caught the bug."

Two of his grandfathers played professional football (soccer) in Europe and it seemed that the young Xander would follow suit.

That was until a falling out with a coach pushed hime further towards golf.

"He would've been a good soccer player," Stefan said. "He's got the butt and the thighs."

That physique proved to be just as good for golf and the very German upbringing gave him a sense of discipline and appreciation for hard work.

"He was brought up in a certain way," said Stefan

"There's a certain German element in there. There's a lot of self-discipline."

Becoming a double Major winner

Schauffele showed evident talent straight away and worked consistently hard on his game throughout the early days of his career and was soon tipped for big things.

Despite a series of PGA TOUR wins, a first Major title wouldn’t arrive until everything changed in the 2024 season. He made the big breakthrough by landing the PGA Championship at Valhalla before adding a second Major in quick succession by winning the Open Championship at Royal Troon.

For Schauffele the Open win was an honour but also something that was just part of the process.

He reflected at the time: “I feel very honored. Hearing your name called with ‘Open Champion’ right after is something I’ve dreamt of for a very long time. I feel speechless just looking at the claret jug and if I sat in a room by myself with it, I would just stare at it and gaze, and really try to take it all in. It’s all part of the process and it is an incredible feeling to be here with the claret jug.

“At the end of the day, it is just a result, and I really do believe that. Sometimes things go your way, and sometimes they don’t. In the final round at Troon, I felt like I really controlled a lot of it. I kind of grabbed onto the lead, and there was no chance I was going to let go of it. I was aware of that and really wanted to make sure I did that.

“For the most part, after all those tough losses in the past or those moments where I let myself slip up and dream too early on that back nine, I was able to reel myself in and make sure that didn’t happen.

“It was a hard week; it was very difficult. I think winning the PGA Championship helped me a lot. I had some feeling of calmness come through. It was very helpful on what has been one of the hardest back nines I’ve ever played in a tournament. It's amazing to win two Majors in one year. It took me forever just to win one, and to have two now is something else.”

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