Nonstop maintenance is part of Tiger Woods’ new reality

Xander Schauffele is quickly becoming big everywhere. He’s big in San Diego where he was born and raised and where he honed his golf at high school and college. He’s big in Las Vegas where he recently moved with his wife and was last week awarded the keys to the city. He’s big in Germany where his father Stefan grew up and dreamed of being an Olympic level decathlete before a car accident stunted that. He’s big in Wisconsin after celebrating in epic fashion, perhaps a little too well, with fans in the aftermath of recent Ryder Cup glory. And he’s really big in Japan where his grandparents reside and where he returns this week for THE ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP around two and a half months after winning the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympic Games. But Schauffele has desires of being bigger. The four-time PGA TOUR winner might be small in stature but he’s massive in heart. And he’s a straight shooter. Despite having a career resume some players spend a lifetime failing to achieve, this 28-year-old evaluates his 2021 as barely acceptable. For the second consecutive season he went winless on the TOUR but did pick up the gold medal and was impressive in the Ryder Cup going 3-0 in the team section before losing to Rory McIlroy in Singles. “I feel not that I failed on the PGA TOUR season, but I didn’t really accomplish what I wanted to. And I did get worse in certain categories throughout the year,” Schauffele says. “But I was able to step up to the plate in tournaments that don’t count for the PGA TOUR… it’s an interesting feeling. “I feel like I’ve had success, but then again I missed out on a lot of things that I wanted to accomplish. So, a weird space that I’m in mentally, but overall, I think celebrating the Ryder Cup win with my teammates sort of got me over the edge of feeling like I failed this season.” The categories Schauffele speaks of were his driving stats and his approach game from 80-140 yards. He was eighth on TOUR in 2020 in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee at +0.648 but dropped to 41st and +0.266 in 2021. His driving accuracy fell from 60.31% to 58.83%. As for his approach game – well his approaches from 75-100 yards went from average 16’3” proximity to 18’10” and from 125-150 yards he went from 20’8” to 22’10”. “I usually don’t look at my numbers that soon, but we were at the Ryder Cup and they had all the numbers and I’m guilty of wanting to know what they are, so I just asked them and that’s what they told me,” Schauffele said. “So I told them thank you for the kick in the rear end to be better.” His drive and desire are in his suitcase this week in Japan and he’s hoping the good memories flood back and help him to more success. He will also have the gold medal on hand – or more likely Stefan will have it nearby as it’s been tough to pry it from his super proud father. His next step is winning on TOUR again and where better than Japan. The Olympics helped him smash one bugaboo – that of not being able to close from in front. He held on to the gold medal after having the 54-hole lead. He hasn’t been able to do that in the four occasions he’s led with a round to play on TOUR. “Whether it was a par-3 contest out here on TOUR, me winning with a lead, I just had to get over that hump and I was able to do it,” he said. “And the magnitude of the event in Tokyo, obviously with my family and my dad and everyone there and me wanting it more and more and more as I would fail in final groups, there was a lot of pressure sitting up there. So for me to be able to pull it off, especially in that fashion, was a good feeling.” This week his dad, grandparents and mom will again make the trip to watch him play. And the local support has been generous because of his family ties. Outside the Japanese stars in the field, he may be their next favorite. “Everyone’s kind of done the quarantine and travel rules to support me, which is nice. It is extra special to return to Japan,” he says of his family. “And the fans will be the ones that also sort of make it special or make me relive my good moments. I remember the first time we played the ZOZO, I was paired with JT and Rory and it was like five to eight deep on the first hole and people are going nuts. “The people in Japan love golf and it’s always nice to play in front of them, even if it is a limited number. I’m looking forward to it for sure. It’s always really cool to get announced on the first tee as the gold medalist and that will be like that for quite some time which is just nice and I’ll take full advantage of that.” Given it’s been a hectic year for Schauffele he could almost be forgiven for treating the tournament as a celebration week before taking a break. He says he hasn’t really had a chance to let it all sink in. But his competitive nature doesn’t allow for wasted weeks. “I haven’t really had an off season. My brain’s still been in go mode. So I haven’t really had time to sort of sit back and relax and take it all in,” he says. “But I’m not going to make up the numbers. I’m going to try to win. I’m very competitive, I hate losing. Hopefully we can celebrate after another great week there.” Schauffele’s goals don’t stop there. “A FedExCup, major championships, PLAYERS championship, multiple of those… that’s just what I expect of myself and sort of why I get up and go through all the whole process every day,” he adds. Now that really would be bigger. And golden.

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Welcome to the Monday Finish, where Si Woo Kim is dancing Gangnam Style in celebration around Ponte Vedra Beach after becoming the youngest champion of THE PLAYERS. Here’s five observations from THE PLAYERS at TPC Sawgrass where Kim was sublime on the way to a decisive, three-shot victory over Louis Oosthuizen and Ian Poulter. FIVE OBSERVATIONS 1. Si Woo Kim is just 21 years of age and, as such, becomes the youngest winner of the PLAYERS Championship, beating out Adam Scott’s old mark by nearly two years. On Sunday at TPC Sawgrass, as others faulted around him, Kim put together a bogey-free 3-under 69 in an incredibly mature performance. Despite hitting just 8 of 18 greens in regulation, Kim managed to scramble his way to a relatively dominant victory. It is rare to see this sort of composure without the benefit of experience, especially on a course as penal as Pete Dye’s masterpiece. His win will likely see him join Nick Price’s International team at The Presidents Cup as new young blood as they try to win the biennial competition for the first time since 1998. Having already won the 2016 Wyndham Championship, Kim is the fourth-youngest player in the last 25 years to win twice on TOUR – behind Tiger Woods, Sergio Garcia and Jordan Spieth. Pretty heady company. Now we just have to see if he can continue the trends like those before him. 2. Ian Poulter might have fallen short of victory. And he might have hit a shank with a chance to win on the line. But it was still great to see some of the old fire in the Englishman’s belly as he went about snatching his best finish (T2) since the 2013 World Golf Championships – HSBC Champions. Just weeks ago, Poulter believed he had missed the terms of his medical and would be scratching around for starts. But he received a reprieve after a recalculation. The change in his status gifted him a spot in the PLAYERS and boy did he make it count. On Sunday, he charged into a share of the lead on the front nine, and when he made a lengthy par putt on the par-5 ninth, we saw some of his trademark passion with an intense fist pump. To be fair, his last seven holes failed to apply any heat on the leader, but he still showed poise to secure a huge jump in the FedExCup standings. He moved from 136th to 58th, and should be in great shape to make the FedExCup Playoffs and secure a TOUR card for next season. Love him or not, he certainly makes life interesting. 3. Speaking of passion and flair – how much fun was it to ride the rollercoaster with the Spanish connection this week at TPC Sawgrass?! Recently-crowned Masters champion Sergio Garcia gave us a poor start, opening in 40, but then a spirited fightback began, including a hole-in-one on the iconic 17th not long after. He then surged into contention through 54 holes only to post his final round 78 to fall well back. We saw similar stuff from PLAYERS first-timer Jon Rahm, who sat well-poised through 36 holes before shooting 82 on Saturday to MDF. And of course then there was Rafa Cabrera Bello who surged to a T4 finish thanks in part to the first-ever albatross on the par-5 16th hole. His celebrations were fun to watch – check it out below. 4. It was certainly strange to not have one of the big guns surging on Sunday at the PLAYERS. Spoiled with some of the most popular players on TOUR in recent years in Tiger Woods, Matt Kuchar, Martin Kaymer, Rickie Fowler and Jason Day as winners of the tournament the large crowds were just waiting for the inevitable rush. Day was paired with Rory McIlroy as the two started eight back but never made a run. The defending champion shot 80 while Rory heads off for his MRI on his back following a 75. Sergio Garcia shot 78 Sunday. Dustin Johnson carded a lovely 68 but was still well off the pace. Fowler signed for a 79 … It was a week for others to shine. It makes this week’s AT&T Byron Nelson very exciting as the likes of Day, Johnson, Garcia and Jordan Spieth (who missed the cut at Sawgrass) join the field. 5. The changes at TPC Sawgrass were for the most part a success. The new green surfaces rolled pure and true and the drivable par-4 12th created a new dynamic to the back nine. A total of 41 players went for the green (hit 3-wood or driver) in the final round compared to 26 in Round 1, 39 in Round 2 and 46 in Round 3. Some players also attempted to hit the green using irons off the tee. While the majority laid back, worried about the risk, the hole did its job – i.e. it made them think. The course is one of the most exciting on the planet where a great score (ace, albatross) or even double digits (Anirban Lahiri had a 10 on the 18th) can be just around the corner.  FIVE INSIGHTS 1. Kim ranked second this week in Strokes Gained: off-the-tee and Strokes Gained: tee-to-green. For the season, Kim had ranked 195th and 194th on TOUR, respectively, producing a stunning turnaround. Kim led the field in Scrambling (22 of 27). 2. Kim’s winning 278 tournament total is the highest at THE PLAYERS since Sergio Garcia won in 2008 (283). 3. With 600 FedExCup points, Kim moves to No. 21 in the FedExCup, while Dustin Johnson (T12) maintained the lead. Last season, Kim was one of two PGA TOUR rookies to qualify for the FedExCup Playoffs finale, the TOUR Championship. He ended the season at No. 17. 4. Kim becomes the first player from Asia to win twice on the PGA TOUR before the age of 22. He is one of eight Korean-born players to win on the PGA TOUR and becomes the fifth with multiple victories: K.J. Choi (8), Y.E. Yang (2), Sangmoon Bae (2), James Hahn (2), Si Woo Kim (2), Kevin Na (1), Seung-Yul Noh (1), Danny Lee (1). 5. There was a total of 69 balls in the water on the par-3 17th island green for the week: 19 in Round 1, 29 in Round 2, 10 in Round 3 and 11 in the final round. It was the most water balls since there were 93 back in 2007 and the second-most since the stat was kept from 2003. TOP THREE VIDEOS 1. Take a bow Rafa Cabrera Bello… or a run through the high five gauntlet… after this history making albatross 2. A hole-in-one from a former PLAYERS champ fresh off winning a green jacket. Nice.  3. If at first you have a near air swing … try again. Jordan Spieth shows us how. 

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On Wednesday, Steve Stricker will announce his six captain’s picks for the U.S. Ryder Cup team. Sure, Kevin Na might not be on top of his list of choices, but the more you think about, the more it makes sense that he should get serious consideration.

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