It isn’t like Xander Schauffele to disintegrate down the stretch of a golf event. However that’s precisely what occurred earlier this month on the Olympics in Paris.
Schauffele, looking for his second straight gold medal after profitable in Tokyo, was proper within the combine that Sunday till the twelfth gap, when he launched into a four-hole stretch with two bogeys and one double.
The No. 2 participant on the earth desires to shake off these reminiscences this week when the FedEx Cup playoffs start on the FedEx St. Jude Championship.
“Yeah, I take delight in ending sturdy, and to do this was — I used to be fairly bummed out,” Schauffele informed reporters Tuesday in Memphis, Tenn. “I went from considering I may have an excellent have a look at gold to possibly silver, then to bronze, after which to, wow, I’m simply spectating now. That’s kind of what occurred the final seven, eight holes of that event. In order that was a little bit of a bummer, particularly with how the followers had been on the market.”
The winner in Paris was his rival and countryman, Scottie Scheffler, who stormed again within the remaining spherical so as to add a gold medal to his six PGA Tour wins this yr.
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Schauffele recalled being “butt-hurt” about how his spherical performed out, then having that feeling dissolve as Scheffler gained one other medal for Staff USA.
“It’s laborious to clarify, the swing of it,” Schauffele stated. “Then out right here this week taking part in with him these subsequent two days and we’re all simply making an attempt to beat our heads in. It’s a humorous feeling.
“I feel it’s simply being American. You see your flag being raised and your Nationwide Anthem performed, and also you’re sitting there kind of buzzing it in your head, and also you get that kind of feeling that we don’t actually get too typically anymore.”
As Schauffele stated, the tour’s elite golfers are transitioning again to plain competitors with the three-week playoffs that can see the sector winnowed from 70 to 50 to 30.
“My group is speaking to me about managing issues accurately, being good about it,” Schaufele stated, “and to me, I’m simply — in my head, I’m sitting there considering, in the event you’re making an attempt to win this factor, making an attempt to be the most effective participant over the course of this yr, you’re going to simply should do higher and be higher than everybody else.
“I’ve obtained a very good group round me ensuring I’m consuming the suitable issues, doing the suitable issues to remain in fine condition bodily and mentally, however when push involves shove, you’re going to should be a canine sooner or later,” he concluded.