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"I had a meltdown, internal meltdown"- Xander Schauffele recalls his worst moments in golf that began his two year winless drought

Xander Schauffele recently opened up about his unfortunate loss in a playoff at the 2020 Sentry Tournament of Champions, which marked the beginning of a two-year winless drought. The American golfer has entered this week's BMW Championship ranked number two in the FedEx Cup standings. However, a few years ago, he went through a difficult phase as he struggled to secure a win for two years.

Xander Schauffele was in contention to win the 2020 Sentry Tournament of Champions. However, a bad shot cost him the title and he was tied for the lead after four rounds with Patrick Reed and Justin Thomas. They competed in a playoff where Schauffele failed to defend his 2019 victory at the event, finishing in second place in 2020. Unfortunately, that loss marked the start of his two-year winless drought, as he struggled to secure another victory until the 2022 Zurich Classic.

In a pre-tournament press conference for the 2024 BMW Championship, Schauffele recalled those challenging times, saying (via ASAP Sports):

"When I three-putted at Sentry and I got to -- I had a two-putt to win and I three-putted and I got in a playoff, and then I was so rattled from three-putting, had a meltdown, internal meltdown and chunked a chip off the fringe or something -- I can't remember," Schauffele said.
"I'm pretty good at being a starfish when it comes to stuff; I forget. Three-second memory here and I forget about it. But I just remember three-putting there, was really excited, really amped up, downwind putt, whacked it seven feet by, missed it, was in complete shock, then had to go into a playoff. Had no chance of winning that thing, obviously," he added.

Schauffele went on to add that it was difficult to recover from the defeat, noting:

“I remember sitting in the hotel room looking at the floor and my wife Maya is asking me if I’m okay and I was like, you’re going to have to give me at least 10 or 15 minutes.”

After nearly two years of struggles, Xander Schauffele finally broke the winless streak by winning the Zurich Classic of New Orleans in 2022. Interestingly, he had a breakout season that year, claiming three victories, including the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, the Travelers Championship, and the Genesis Scottish Open.

However, Schauffele again faced difficulties with his game and did not win any events in 2023. He seemed to be on course for another two-year winless drought but fortunately managed to clinch the 2024 PGA Championship, securing his first Major title with a one-stroke victory over Bryson DeChambeau. Schauffele also won the 2024 Open Championship last month, marking his second Major victory.


How many tournaments has Xander Schauffele won in his career?

Since turning professional in 2015, Xander Schauffele has won 12 tournaments in his career. His maiden professional victory came in 2015 when he won the Northern California Open.

He later joined the PGA Tour in 2016 after finishing 15th in the Web.com Tour Finals. Schauffele made his Tour debut at the CareerBuilder Challenge and secured his first PGA Tour win at the 2017 Greenbrier Classic. He won two tournaments in 2017, followed by his first World Golf Championship title at the WGC-HSBC Champions in 2018.

Xander Schauffele then emerged victorious at the Sentry Tournament of Champions in 2019 but did not win again until the 2022 Zurich Classic of New Orleans, where he teamed up with Patrick Cantlay to secure a two-stroke victory over Sam Burns and Billy Horschel.

He also won the Genesis Scottish Open in 2022, a co-sponsored event by the European Tour and PGA Tour. In addition to his regular tournament victories, Schauffele has won a gold medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and has two Major titles to his name.

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