Itâs early evening in rural Haven, Wis. Team U.S.A. has clinched the Ryder Cup in record-setting fashion. Theyâve doused Whistling Straitsâ 18th fairway in champagne. And now, they traipse into the media center, a dozen players and their captain, in varying states of boozy dishevelment.
Front and center sits 27-year-old Xander Schauffele, Ryder Cup rookie. He has a twinkle in his eye after winning three of four matches on the week and celebrating accordingly. He has a microphone in his left hand, a large cigar in his right and an ear-to-ear grin across his face, the kind youâll never see him flash in a tournament round. At one point, he looks down at his shirt, brushes cigar ash off the white stripe on his chest and delivers a particularly honest assessment.
âI had no idea we had [to do] media after all of that,â he says.
A year ago, nobody would have imagined that Schauffele â known mostly for playing top-tier golf and flying under the radar â would be an emotional centerpiece for the American squad. Nor that heâd be chugging beers in front of a roaring crowd or cruising feet-first down a Whistling Straits hillock as if he were headed down a frat party Slip ânâ Slide. But Schauffeleâs story is full of surprises. Just donât expect him to be the one to tell it.
Xander, the Son.
He was born in San Diego in 1993 to a French-German father and Taiwanese-Japanese mother. At this summerâs Olympic Games, his gold medal counted double: the fulfillment of a dream for himself and his dad. Decades earlier in Germany, before a head-on collision with a drunk driver ended his athletic career, Stefan Schauffele was an aspiring decathlete. His years of grinding for the German national team left him with at least one essential gift: the ability to evaluate talent. He insists his youngest son, Xander, overflowed with it.
âAt first, I thought he was going to be a soccer player, because I had never seen anyone, at age four, at his level. Shoulder-high volleys. Left foot. Right foot,â Stefan recalled recently. He, along with his eldest son, Nico, and a few other members of Xanderâs intentionally tight inner circle were with the golfer at a Callaway promo shoot in Southern California a few weeks before the Ryder Cup.
âI had to pinch myself to make sure I was seeing this,â Stefan continues, âbecause every parent is delusional, right?â (Xanderâs mother, Ping-Yi, doesnât do interviews, but he and Nico will tell you, rolling their eyes, that Stefan speaks plenty for both of them.)
When it came to nurturing the athletic skills of young kids, Stefan admired the approach Walter Gretzky took with his son, ice hockey legend Wayne Gretzky. âWalter was great,â Stefan says, then quotes him. “‘That bastard,’ he said, âmust have emptied out 100 car batteries shining lights on that bloody pond. I couldnât get him off the ice, day or night. And thereâs one truth. One basic truth: If your kid has it, thereâs nothing you can do to stop him, and if he doesnât, thereâs nothing you can do to make him.'”
There are aspects of the Schauffele origin story that sound like tall tales, but all are true. At his sonsâ birthday parties, Stefan would have Xander, Nico and their friends dress in suits, sip expensive cognac and smoke fine cigars â beginning at age 12. San Diegoâs junior golf scene teems with talent, but at age 16, at the first college-sponsored golf clinic he participated in, Xander began hitting balls and every coach in attendance gravitated to his stall. Later that year, he played a three-hole stretch at nearby Barona Creek Golf Club in six under par, going albatross-birdie-eagle in a warm-up round for a U.S. Open local qualifier, the only known instance of that three-hole feat in golf history.
Some parents would hesitate to admit theyâd put pressure on their athletic kids, but by the time Stefan began to grasp the college recruiting process there wasnât any wiggle room. “I told him, ‘Xander, I cannot pay for college,'” he remembers. “‘Iâm bankrupt. I paid for your brother, and I just donât have money left. You need to get a scholarship. You must perform.'”
Under the gun, Schauffele finished top three in each of his next three events, against SoCalâs stiffest competition, earning a scholarship to Long Beach State in the process. “Thatâs why he performs like he does in the majors,” Stefan says, referencing the six top-fives and nine top-10s his son has logged in 18 major starts. “Whenever he gets put under pressure, he increases his focus and he plays better. There is no other explanation for it.”
As a Brother,
Xander aroused both the envy and the empathy of Nico, three years his senior.
âDo I remember him having talent? How could I not?â Nico says, laughing. He helps manage Xanderâs social channels, his communications and his foundation work. âHe was so good at golf that I quit. Anything that involved a ball, anything round, he was instantly the best.â
Still, it wasnât always easy. High school golfers arenât the big men on campus, no matter how well they compress their irons.
âThere were definitely sacrifices,â Nico says. âI remember specifically, it was in high school that Xander decided he wanted to become a professional golfer, so he was never at parties or just hanging out. Iâd see his friends and theyâd say, âWhereâs your brother?â And Iâd say, âHeâs at the driving range.â Now when I see them, theyâre like, âOh. I guess that actually happened, huh?ââ
As a Husband,
Schauffele is proving to himself â and to his wife, Maya â something he once worried was impossible.
âI never thought I could play golf at a high level and care about someone else besides myself,â he says between setups at the photo shoot. âGolfers are super selfish, and we have to be. Thereâs so much depending on our individual performance. But itâs pretty special to care for someone else that way, and to have that someone care for you.â
Xander and Maya Lowe met in 2014 as students at San Diego State, where Schauffele transferred after his freshman year. They married in July of this year at their new home in Las Vegas after relocating there just a few months earlier. (They split time between Vegas and San Diego.) Exactly eight family members, one officiant and the coupleâs two dogs (dressed in formal wear) attended. The small ceremony was Mayaâs idea.
âNormally, I have a superpower when it comes to crying, but that day?â Xander says. âAbsolute waterworks.â
Maya doesnât crave the spotlight that typically accompanies the life of a Tour wife. Sheâs built a career in healthcare administration. Sheâs not on Instagram. And she didnât grow up playing or watching golf. When she and Xander began dating, she didnât even know he played the game.
She knows it now. âIâve gotten the lingo down,â Maya said on a walk toward the Whistling Straits clubhouse, just minutes after her husband and his Tour pal Patrick Cantlay had closed out a foursomes match at the Ryder Cup.
âHave you?â asked Xander, who was walking beside her. âWhatâd we make on that hole?â
âYou won!â she said.
âWe won that hole with aâ¦â
She paused.
âItâs three letters.â
âPar!â
He slung his arm around her. âWeâre getting there,â he said.
As a Friend,
Schauffele demonstrates confidence and generosity in equal measure. Kevin âTechâ Techakanokboon is on the phone from Q-School in Illinois, and heâs eager to share. Tech remembers their first year at Long Beach State, when the golf team was going around the room, making self-introductions, sharing brief bios and what each player hoped to bring to the team.
âWe had this senior,â Tech says, âand he goes, âIâm Kevin Roy, from Syracuse, N.Y., and Iâll be your teamâs leader.â And the next guy goes, âIâm Xander Schauffele, Iâm an incoming freshman, and since we already have a leader for the team, I guess Iâll just be your scoring leader.â We were all looking around at each other like, Who does this guy think he is?! But thatâs the mentality Xander has always had. He had such a firm belief in this process, and he was right.â
The two stayed in touch even after Schauffele transferred. Both turned pro. Xander made his way through the Web.com tour and, in 2016, qualified for the PGA Tour. Tech went to play in Asia but remembers coming home one Christmas in desperate need of a couch, a friendly face and a swing analysis.
âXander was in his first year on Tour,â he says. âHe was prepping for the upcoming season, and he was still so patient. I crashed at his apartment, with him and Maya, and he just always had time for me. I would love the world to know how good a guy he is.â
As a Competitor,
Schauffele doesnât have an off switch, and he hates to lose. Thatâs partly what has propelled him to the top five in the world. Thatâs what made sealing the deal at the Olympics in Tokyo feel so good. He stresses just how satisfying it was to protect a lead that Sunday.
It also makes him a formidable opponent in money games at home. When heâs in Vegas, that means connecting with any number of pros in town, including friends like Alex Kang or Kurt Kitayama. In San Diego, thereâs a crew that includes Phil Mickelson and Charley Hoffman, as well as aspiring young pros and low-handicap members of several San Diegoâarea clubs.
Eric Ingersoll, a plus-handicap and a regular at The Farms Golf Club in Rancho Santa Fe, relishes those games.
âXanderâs a f—ing killer,â he says. âYou saw what he was like at the Olympics. Stone cold. Sure, heâs a little more relaxed when we play, but itâs the same exact game. In his routine. One shot at a time. Relentless. And he never plays bad. Ever.â
After his 2021 PGA Championship win, Mickelson shared one story from the Tourâs Covid hiatus, when he and Schauffele played a string of matches at The Farms. The first round Xander shot 64 and gave Mickelson what he admitted was âa pretty good beating.â Lefty wanted a rematch. Schauffele shot 63.
Mickelson wanted one more crack, but Schauffele went way up in that match too. With three holes to play, Mickelson pressed on the 220-yard 16th, teed up his ball and hit it to four feet.
âSince itâs match play, I let him know that I could make him re-hit,â Schauffele remembers now. âBut because he was getting his butt kicked, I figured I would let him hit it to four feet and not make him re-hit.â
Schauffele grabbed 6-iron and hit a slight pull that brought water into play â but also headed straight for the flagstick. âIt fell right in line with the pin, then trickled in,â he says with a grin. âThereâs a little mound behind the tee box, and [Phil] sat there like this, looking down at the ground, shaking his head.â
Schauffeleâs ace capped a round of 62.
Mickelson was whipped â and thoroughly impressed. “I went back and talked to [his wife] Amy,” he said later, âand Iâm like, âI donât know how Iâm going to beat this guy. Heâs probably playing the best of any player in the world right now.'”
As a Teammate,
first at the 2019 Presidents Cup and then at this yearâs Ryder Cup, Schauffele has shown Patrick Cantlay just how nice it can be to have him on your side. The duo went 4-2-0 across the two competitions. More importantly, theyâve become close friends and sparring partners; they play a practice round together every Tuesday at Tour events.
âI donât think either of us would have gone out of our way to be friends with the other, but spending that time together, we realized we really got along,â Cantlay told me after a Ryder Cup practice round. The bond makes sense â both obsess over golf minutiae, let their clubs do the talking and reject what each of them separately refers to as the âattention-seeking behaviorâ of social media and brand-building in todayâs sports world.
âX is incredibly smart, and heâs incredibly conscientious,â Cantlay says. âHeâs someone who probably brings out the best in me. Heâs more positive, and he has a way of being lighter as opposed to me being serious. Yet, heâs quiet and reserved, so we have that bond too. He balances me out a little bit.â
As a Client,
Schauffeleâs unparalleled ability to filter and focus amazes his agent, Ross Chouler.
âHeâs so present,â Chouler says. âI see other guys and how their minds get active under pressure. Not his. He lets things go when he should, on and off the course. When heâs hitting a shot, he has his routine, and he does not get out of that routine. Itâs incredible. He and Stefan talk about CEA: Commit. Execute. Accept. Whatever happens, happens.â
As a Golfer,
Schauffele is in a better place than heâs ever been. âI still get excited to play, to compete, like I did when I was a rookie,â he says. âBut when youâre a rookie, you know the top-10 players are there, and they know the course better than you. Now, Iâm like, âIâve played this course before. Why not me?'”
He still gets lost in the process sometimes. Heâll lose track of time playing chipping games into the evening alongside Tech. Every day is a chance to improve; the job is never finished. Thatâs part of the system heâs grown up in, and the system is effective.
âOn the one hand, golf is work,â Schauffele says. âOn the other hand, itâs not my fault that I love my job.â
âWhat heâs got â his small circle â is enough,â says Tech. âHeâs got everything worked out. Some people, when they have success, when they start to make money, they start doing all these other things. Xander just says, âIâm just trying to get good at this one thing.'”
âHe hasnât changed anything at all,â Stefan marvels. âHe doesnât even have a new car. He still drives his Toyota Camry and for a good reason: It makes him happy. He says it reminds him of how quickly this could all be gone.â
Gone? No chance. Itâs just getting started.