‘Something is behind my ball’: Wild ruling interrupts Xander Schauffele’s Olympic charge

After a second-round 66 that propelled Xander Schauffele to the top of the Olympic leaderboard Friday, he was asked how his day went.

“A little bit of everything,” he said.

Nine pars, seven birdies, two bogeys, more than a few excellent shots but also some sloppy ones.   

Oh, and one ant hill.

Or an “ant pile,” as Schauffele referred to the colony of Formicidae that abutted his ball in the rough left of Le Golf National’s 13th fairway. Schauffele said he made this unlikely discovery as he was assessing his lie and taking practice swings in the “fluffy grass.”

“I’m trying to get to my ball and I can’t even — what’s going on? Something is behind my ball,” he said. “I went down and saw a pile, so I called an official. It was just ants. It was a pile of ants, an ant pile, or whatever you want to call it, and their home. I didn’t want to mess with it. Couldn’t take relief. It’s a loose impediment.”

A reporter asked Schaufelle if the ants might have been considered a dangerous animal, which would have permitted him relief under Rule 16.2.

“Dangerous to some,” Schaufelle replied, seemingly referencing the incident at the 2020 WGC-FedEx St. Jude Classic when Bryson DeChambeau famously lobbied for relief from what he claimed was a congregation of fire ants. “I didn’t feel too threatened by the ants. I don’t think they have fire ants. I’m not too sure to be completely honest.”

For what it’s worth, France does have fire ants; according to reports, they were first detected in the South of France in 2022 but it’s unclear if they’ve made their way to the greater Paris region. Whatever the case, Schauffele wasn’t about to make a careless rules gaffe to skirt the tiny creatures. When an official in Schauffele’s group told him he could use his club to scrape away the sand behind his ball, Schauffele was dubious, so he called for a second official to weigh in.

“My gut was like, ‘Oh, boy, am I really going to use my club, have it on film, and then talk to you guys after?’” he said. “I got a second opinion, and the guys said I could not move the grass but use my tee to move the ants.”

Flummoxed, Schaufelle decided to play it safe.  

“I didn’t do anything, to be honest,” he said. “I ended up hacking out 50 yards on the fairway. That’s all I’ve got for you.”

That hack left Schaufelle 125 yards to the hole from where he was unable to get up and down, leading to his second of two bogeys on the day. Undaunted, he birdied the ensuing hole to get back to five under for the round and 11 under for the tournament, which has him tied for first with Hideki Matsuyama and Tommy Fleetwood.

Schauffele has never been one to make mountains out of mole hills but if he were to lose by one this week, he might feel some anguish over an ant hill.