“It's very close to it if not it" - Xander Schauffele says he might be playing the ‘best golf of his career’
Xander Schauffele took the early lead at the 2024 PGA Championship. The 30-year-old golfer shot a course-record 9-under 62 on Thursday, May 16, and entered the Major’s record books. The golfer’s bogey-free 62 at Valhalla Golf Club was the lowest round in PGA Championship history.
Schauffele led the likes of Tony Finau, Sahith Theegala, and Mark Hubbard by three strokes. Following this, the PGA Tour star stated that he’s feeling confident in his game. Replying to media queries, Schuaffele admitted that he was probably “playing the best golf of his career right now.”
Speaking in the post-round press conference at Valhalla on Thursday, Xander Schauffele said (at 0:32):
"I feel there's spurts of moments in time where you feel like you can control the ball really well, you're seeing the greens really well you're chipping really well. But over a prolonged period, it's tough to upkeep high performance. But I'd say it's very close to it if not it."
It is pertinent to note this isn’t the first time Schauffele has shot a 62 at a major. The ace golfer had carded 62 in the opening round of the U.S. Open at The Los Angeles Country Club last year. However, he finished 10th, seven shots behind champion Wyndham Clark.
Taking lessons from the incident, the Cali native tried to downplay his PGA Championship opening.
Xander Schauffele said in the same presser:
“It’s just Thursday. That’s about it… It's a great start to a big tournament. One I'm obviously always going to take.”
For the unversed, Schauffele went bogey-free in the opening round. He made multiple birdies before carding back-to-back pars at Nos. 8 and 9, his first of the round. Having enjoyed a strong opening, the seven-time PGA Tour winner will be hoping for a great finish.
Xander Schauffele's 2024 season so far
Xander Schauffele has had a strong start to the PGA Tour season. However, he has yet to win an event.
The World No. 3 golfer started his 2024 schedule with a T10 finish at The Sentry in January. He followed it up with a T3 finish at The American Express and a T9 at the Farmers Insurance Open. He suffered a low T54 finish at AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, only to T4 at the Genesis Open two weeks later.
Schauffele just missed on The Players Championship trophy. He finished T2 in the competition, just days after finishing T25 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. He continued the good run of form with fifth place at the Valspar Championship and eighth at the Masters.
He even gave a good run to eventual winner Rory McIlroy at the Wells Fargo Championship. Being in contention till the last round, Schauffele settled a solo second-place finish.
Notably, he will be eyeing a strong comeback this week at Valhalla. He looks locked in to claim the major championship title of his career.