In galore ways, 2021 has been 1 of the champion years of Xander Schauffele’s life. He got married, moved to his caller location successful Las Vegas, won an Olympic golden medal and starred connected the victorious U.S. Ryder Cup team.
But connected the PGA Tour, Schauffele was thing but satisfied. He had 8 top-10 finishes, including 3 seconds, and earned much than $5.2 million. But without a win, the twelvemonth near a atrocious sensation successful his mouth.
Such are the expectations of the world’s No. 5 player.
Schauffele, 28, announced successful aboriginal July that helium had joined his longtime girlfriend, Maya Lowe, and the mates had moved to Las Vegas. The determination to permission his lifelong location of San Diego was not difficult, helium said.
“The determination was easy. A batch of it had to bash with the in-laws,” helium said. “Wherever her parents were — they were successful Austin, Texas, a small bit, and we utilized to spell determination for Thanksgiving and Christmas — truthful wherever they were going to extremity up, we were going to follow. So that’s fundamentally what we did.”
And Schauffele couldn’t beryllium happier with his caller hometown and a location tucked successful the foothills.
“We person a location here. It’s quiet. It’s precise acheronian astatine night, nary thoroughfare lights,” helium said. “I truly bask benignant of astir the tranquillity of peacefulness up connected this occidental side.”
Schauffele said helium avoids the Strip unless friends travel to municipality and privation to go.
“I’m typically 1 to benignant of beryllium tucked distant and quiescent with my wife, my dogs and I,” helium said. “That’s benignant of what we similar to do. I precise overmuch bask spending clip here.”
When Schauffele is not astatine home, he’s moving connected his craft. That usually happens astatine Southern Hills, wherever helium is simply a member, oregon astatine TPC Las Vegas, wherever helium practices astatine the backmost of the facility.
That dedication to amended has led to 4 wins successful 5 seasons connected the PGA Tour, including the Tour Championship successful 2017 and a World Golf Championship lawsuit successful 2019.
It besides earned him a golden medal successful Tokyo this summer, his 1 triumph successful a twelvemonth helium different recovered frustrating.
“I consciousness not that I failed connected the PGA Tour season, but I didn’t truly execute what I wanted to,” helium said.
He called the twelvemonth interesting, to beryllium feeling joyousness astatine the Olympics and Ryder Cup, but disappointed astatine what helium labeled regressing successful regular PGA Tour events.
“So a weird, benignant of, weird abstraction that I’m successful mentally, but wide I deliberation celebrating the Ryder Cup triumph with my teammates benignant of got maine implicit the borderline of feeling similar I failed this season,” helium said.
And observe helium did.
“We fto it each bent escaped determination successful the end, and we each had a truly bully time,” helium said. “My woman said she hasn’t seen maine this atrocious since college.”
Since the Ryder Cup, Schauffele played the CJ Cup successful Las Vegas, past flew to Japan for the Zozo Championship. That’s it, helium said, until helium tees it up successful contention astatine the Tournament of Champions successful Hawaii successful January.
He hopes that’s the commencement of a caller twelvemonth that includes getting a triumph nether his belt. Until then, he’s perfectly blessed successful the bid and quiescent of his caller home.
Chip shots
— Las Vegas Golf Club volition big a two-person scramble Nov. 21 with an 8 a.m. shotgun start. Cost is $138 per team, and Nov. 18 is the introduction deadline.
— Brent Pendleton and Brian Edwards won the Legacy Men’s Club’s yearly member-guest event. The squad of Harry Helfrich and Pat Burke was second.
Greg Robertson covers play for the Review-Journal. He tin beryllium reached astatine grobertson@reviewjournal.com.