“I was hiked up pretty far on that tree” - Xander Schauffele reflects on his most memorable Tiger Woods moment
The 2024 Farmers Insurance Open is all set to begin on Wednesday, January 24 and Xander Schauffele is not only the home favorite but also best placed to win the tournament. Coming off back-to-back top 10 finishes so far in the season, Schauffele will headline the tournament alongside the likes of Max Homa, Collin Morikawa and Ludvig Aberg.
The field will be full of 156 talented golfers, although Tiger Woods is yet to make an appearance in the 2024 season. Even if Woods is not course this week, Xander Schauffele reminisced about his most memorable incident with the legend. Speaking about it in his preconference, Schauffele said:
"I was on the tree on 18 that fell. I was hiked up pretty far on that tree. I remember I was going up the the trunk of it as high as possible. I got pretty far above just short left on of the hazard on 18. And I had pretty much a straight on sight line of him making his putt and the whole sort of coliseum feel at 18 was during that US Open."
The incident took place at the 2019 Masters, and Woods was playing two groups ahead of Schauffele. When Xander was trying to take a shot from atop the fallen tree, he could see Woods playing his game. It became a memorable incident for Schauffele, who even led the Masters at one point during the tournament.
Xander Schauffele mentally prepared for 'tough' course at 2024 Farmers Insurance Open
Xander Schauffele spoke about the course ahead of the tournament, and spoke about how tough the Torrey Pines course is to navigate. Schauffele said that even a little bit of practice would be of great use for him.
"So for me I feel like it was a short week of practice and last week was all like perfect lies and it was a bit of a wakeup call just playing nine holes just right now trying to figure out how to chip out of this rough again."
The 2024 Farmers Insurance Open will boast a prize purse of $9 million. It is a signature event on the 2024 PGA Tour season, with the second highest prize money, trailing only to the Sentry.