Xander Schauffele has one crucial goal at Valspar. He might win, too

Xander Schauffele’s entry into this week’s Valspar Championship was made at the 11th hour last week, while he was praying for a made cut at the Players Championship. He checked the scores all evening, waiting out the cut, made it by a whisker — and then shot 77-81 on the weekend at TPC Sawgrass. 

Suddenly the Valspar wasn’t such a last-minute add but more of an absolute need, an essential spot to find life in what’s likely his final start before the Masters. Through 36 holes at Innisbrook, it’s looking like he’s found something. Schauffele is back in contention — in his words, he’s “in touch” with the leaders — trailing by just two shots entering the weekend, a positive sign in what has been a bit of a rollercoaster start to 2025. 

Those weekend rounds at the Players passed by very quietly for all but Schauffele himself, who then tripped down to Palm Beach Gardens for a night of TGL golf before showing up at the Valspar for a lengthy grind session Wednesday evening. His team has tried keeping him on a ball count in his return from a rib injury, but he blew through it at the Players and did so again Wednesday. 

How many balls?

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“Probably more than most of the people on my team want,” he said. 

He was hyper-critical of himself at Sawgrass, and clearly not ready to apologize for it. But he recognized that he was playing “golf swing” more than he was playing golf, too focused on the technical moves he was making amid all the water hazards at Pete Dye’s house of chaos. 

“This week is all about getting back to playing golf, not playing golf swing,” Schauffele said Friday, after shooting a three-under 68. He’s not the only player searching for it at the Valspar and also in contention. Viktor Hovland is one shot better than Schauffele, but doing it in a much different way. Hovland ranks third in the field in Strokes Gained: Putting, a much more volatile stat, while Schauffele is leading the field in Strokes Gained: Approaching the green. If he can shore up his short game, which ranks 78th this week, and pair it with a hot putter (where he ranks 95th), he will continue nudging his way up the leaderboard. 

Schauffele is working his way into form in the only way Tour pros really know how: through competitive reps. And he’s really only had so many of those. Friday marked his 10th competitive round since January, which is partly why he’s been spending so much time on the range, simulating extra reps. He likened it to cramming for a test, and right now his rounds feel like he’s still studying. But there’s something about that endeavor that appeals to Schauffele at the moment. The grinding, so long as his body holds up, is invigorating to him. 

“I’m trying to be smart about how I go about things, and I definitely feel like a kid again,” he said. “I feel like I want to hit a million golf balls and sit out here until 8 o’clock every night, but I’ve got to be smart about it.” 

Thanks to making the cut for the 60th straight time — the current leader on Tour in that stat — he’ll get two more reps this weekend, at a course that packs a punch all its own. Whereas Sawgrass is filled with double bogey danger zones, Innisbrook is brawny, with tree-lined fairways and only a couple hazards. It’s more about working your ball into certain parts of the fairway for the proper angle into a green, and making a bunch of good pars. With the wind blowing like it was Friday, it’s just as exacting of a test as the treacherous Sawgrass. He sees it that way, too.

“This is one of those places where it can get away from you quick,” Schauffele said, closing out his press time Friday evening, “or you can kind of hang in there and your name will be up there on Sunday, late in the day. So I’m just trying to play golf.”