Two weeks after winning his second major title this year, Xander Schauffele will tee off as the defending Olympic gold medalist
Xander Schauffele, right, talks with teammate Wyndham Clark, left, both of the United States, during Tuesday’s Olympics practice round. PARIS – The first thing that went in the Claret Jug, the 152-year-old silver trophy awarded to the winner of golf’s Open Championship, was red wine.“I don’t really drink much alcohol, so three days in a row drinking was quite a feat for me,” Xander Schauffele said. “The recovery was slow. I wear an Oura ring, tracking my sleep every day.
For most, golf is an afterthought at the Olympics. It was part of the Olympics in 1900 and 1904, then gone for 112 years before returning in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro at a course patrolled by giant, snub-nosed tropical rodents called capybaras. But the real reason was his father’s side of the family. Stefan Schauffele’s grandfather qualified for a since-discontinued ball event in one of the original Games in the early 1900s, then hurt his shoulder two weeks before and didn’t go. Stefan himself was a promising decathlete in Germany four decades ago, only for a fiery car accident with a drunk driver to leave him with a shard of glass wedged into his left eye. Six surgeries couldn’t fix it.
“I’m 30 years old now. Once you have success, it was always my goal to have my dad be happy and do what he wants to do. He’s going to turn 60 this year. I don’t think he wants to go sit on the range in 95 degrees and watch me pound golf balls all day. I wouldn’t want to do that when I’m 60. As the years have gone on, I’ve been trying to take hats away from him just so he can relax a little bit and enjoy his life a little bit more.
“Chris changed a teeny thing and he found answers that Xander and I together couldn’t come up with,” Stefan told Golf.com in May. “We went trial and error, we went empirical, I couldn’t answer it. … Chris had the answer right away.” Xander Schauffele, walks to the fourth tee during a practice round for the men’s Olympic golf tournament at the Paris Olympics.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
‘Best round I’ve played’ lifts San Diego’s Xander Schauffele to second major victoryThe 30-year-old San Diegan becomes the first player since Jordan Spieth in 2015 to win his first two majors in the same season
Read more »
Xander Schauffele Is Still Riding High As He Prepares for Gold-Medal Defense in ParisThe new British Open champion took time to celebrate his career-making season, but Olympic golf may be more special to him that many of his peers. He's ready to play for another gold medal.
Read more »
Billy Horschel can't match Xander Schauffele's dominant Sunday at the British OpenHorschel wasn’t playing poor golf. The problem was eventual winner Xander Schauffele was playing better.
Read more »
Xander Schauffele wins the British Open for his 2nd major this yearXander Schauffele took home his second major title of the year, delivering a 6-under 65 at Royal Troon on Sunday to win the British Open by two shots over Justin Rose and Billy Horschel.
Read more »
Xander Schauffele Wins British Open for Second Major Title of 2024The Californian backed up his first major title at the PGA with a flawless Sunday at Royal Troon, completing an American sweep of the majors in 2024.
Read more »
Xander Schauffele, Scottie Scheffler lead major season superlativesXander Schauffele clinched an American sweep of all four majors for first time since 1982 to highlight an impressive year for U.S. golfers.
Read more »