Peter Malnati becomes first PGA Tour player to speak out on national anthem protests

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SAN DIEGO – FedExCup leader Xander Schauffele has plenty of big goals remaining this season but one of the biggest – at least in his mind – comes this week at Torrey Pines. The San Diego native has never played well at the Farmers Insurance Open – a fact that grates at him like nails on a chalkboard. After all he grew up here. He played high school events here. He went to college here. He started watching PGA TOUR golf here. But in his three attempts at the Farmers Insurance Open the 25-year-old four-time PGA TOUR winner has three missed cuts to show for it. He has yet to post a round in the 60s. His scoring average is 73.83. And that has to change. But just how will it? When asked if had any form to speak of at the iconic coastal venue going back to his junior days, he couldn’t come up with a single time. “Wait … maybe I won a high school match play event here,â€� Schauffele said while going into his deep thought tank. “No … you were second in that. Twice,â€� father and swing coach Stefan interjects. Schauffele laughed it off but he at least has some warm memories of those days when he attended Scripps Ranch High School about 10 miles inland of Torrey. “I just remember being excited to leave school early to come out to Torrey Pines, eating onion rings in the Lodge after nine holes,â€� he smiled. “My high school teammates and I would do some stupid race, we would sprint down No. 9 and the loser in the race would have to buy the onion rings. I just remember all kind of kid‑ish fun things about this property, so I need to sort of revive those thoughts and bring them into this week.â€� And therein lies the key. Schauffele feels perhaps his three Farmers Insurance Open appearances have been laced with a bit more pressure than they should have been. He has spent a huge chunk of his preparation in the past trying to say hi to as many of his friends and acquaintances as possible. This time around Schauffele intends to get away from the property more and feed into his more comfortable “recluseâ€� type existence. “Playing in front of my friends and fans is sort of what’s put more pressure on me to be impatient and to get a little more ticked off than I normally do,â€� he figures. “I always want to do that little extra … If I’m playing poorly, it will (tick) me off a little more than if I’m in New York or somewhere way away from home. There’s added pressure just to perform better.â€� But this is the first time he enters the week with much less pressure given he has already claimed the World Golf Championships–HSBC Champions and the Sentry Tournament of Champions this season. He can virtually book his place at the TOUR Championship – which he won in his rookie year –given the way he’s trending atop the FedExCup and Wyndham Rewards Top 10 lists. “Mentally, I’ve never come into this tournament with a win that fresh, so I’m in a good state,â€� Schauffele adds. “Two wins early is something new to us and it’s something I’ve always dreamt of since I’m sort of a late-in-the-season kind of guy, but hopefully we can kind of keep this trend going.â€� If the pressure is coming from anywhere it could be the fact he’s been paired with 80-time PGA TOUR winner Tiger Woods and Tony Finau during the opening two rounds. Woods has double the amount of Schauffele’s career wins just at Torrey Pines alone and always brings a huge gallery as a fellow southern California native. “It’s really cool. I’ve never played with him, not even a hole, so looking forward to the zoo that’s going to be out here Thursday, Friday,â€� Schauffele said. “This is going to be a little bit bigger of a zoo than I’m used to, but I just sort of block it all out. I’ve just got to sort of handle my own thing. “Mentally I should be okay. I’m not one to have a fanning moment there where I’m going to try to run up to him or take a picture with him or whatnot … We’re still out here to compete.â€� Schauffele remembers being part of the crowd zoo as a child at the 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines when Woods made his clutch 72nd hole putt to force a playoff that he would win over Rocco Mediate. He’s now hoping to create a similar winning moment on the same patch of grass this week.

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