LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Maya Schauffele apologized once, then twice.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I’m fainting.”
Her emotions were running high after watching her husband, par, in the 106th edition of the PGA. Championship.
As he stood beyond the scoring tent at Valhalla Golf Club, his eyes were hidden by dark sunglasses. And yet, it was obvious that tears were forming. The tremor in her voice was the clue.
“This means everything,” he said. “Everything he has worked hard for shows that you will see results if you put in the work. He deserves it more than anything. Why do I say that? I have seen the dedication, the work he puts in, the hours. Even during off weeks, there is never a free week; They are constantly practicing. The routine never stops.”
The victory came exactly one week after Schauffele blew a one-stroke lead and lost by five in the Wells Fargo Championship. It was the sixth time in his career that he had come up short after entering the final round with the lead or a share of it, and some openly wondered if he had what it took to finish. He was already known as the best player in the world who had never won a major, and the louder those voices became this week, the more they motivated the laid-back but super-competitive Schauffele.
Maya could feel it, even if those precise words were never spoken.
“I’m sure that resentment on my shoulder is gone, oh my God,” she said, pausing momentarily before continuing. “I’m really very excited. I think what this means for him is that this is exactly what he needs to do: play golf at this level. He is doing what he loves.”
He paused again.
“Sorry, I’m fainting right now.”
Xander Schauffele celebrates with caddy Austin Kaiser after winning the PGA Championship. (Michael Reaves//Keynote USA/Getty Images)
She was alongside other members of the Schauffele family and their inner circle, and if one thing stood out more than anything else, it’s that Schauffele’s journey is not hers alone. She also belongs to everyone around him, including Maya, her rock; Stefan Schauffele, her father; Austin Kaiser, her caddy and close friend; Chris Como and Derek Uyeda, her coaches; Ross Chouler, her agent; Nico Schauffele, her older brother and her road chef; and Ronna Semonian and Marnus Marais, her physical therapists and trainers.
“I’m a big believer in having the right foundation, the right people around you and a good team around you,” Schauffele said. “I believe that if you work hard and allow yourself to do what you believe you can do, your work will bear some fruit.”
Others might have doubted him, but never those around him. Even amid the disappointment of the previous week, when Rory McIlroy outshot Schauffele on the back nine despite Schauffele leading after each of the first three rounds, Schauffele shook hands with Kaiser on Quail’s 18th green Hollow and said, “We’re going to get One soon, boy.”
There was substance not only in the words but also in their relationship.
“I told him, ‘I love you, man,’” Kaiser recalled, sweat still forming on his face as he stood outside the scoring tent, Schaufelle’s golf bag slung over his shoulder. “We’ve been through everything. We’ve been through a lot. I’m proud of him.”
There has always been respect for Schauffele’s game, but there always seemed to be a “yes, but” going into this week. For example:
• Has 12 top 10s in 28 major appearances entering this week. Yes, but there are no victories.
• Has seven top-10 finishes in 13 PGA Tour events this season. Yes, but there are no victories.
• He has participated in eight PGA Championships. Yes, but he never finished in the top five.
And yet, any questions about his mental toughness were answered on consecutive holes on Sunday’s back nine, when, after sending his tee shot into the right bunker on the par-5 10th, he opted to use a fairway wood to despite being 284 yards and hitting from the sand. He was a shot up at that point and he could have played it safe, but no.
The ball landed in the gross and prevented him from getting any spin on his next wedge shot, which went over the hole and onto the rim, resulting in a two-putt bogey that cost him the lead.
As almost everyone looked back on the previous weekend and wondered if his excessive aggressiveness could be the start of another fall, Schauffele refused to back down. He approached the tee on No. 11 and went for the flag, placing the ball 8 feet from the hole to set up a birdie and give him back a share of the lead.
It was a continuation of the mental toughness he showed on Saturday, when he followed a double on the 15th hole with back-to-back birdies. If there was one thing he wasn’t going to do this week it was play scared. He committed to whatever shot he chose, a lesson that was reinforced to him the week before.
“Courage,” Kaiser said. “That’s who he is as a person.”
The victory was delicious for multiple reasons, perhaps most importantly because it confirmed that he made the right decision several months ago when he brought in Como to replace his father as coach. Stefan is the one who got him into the game, who trained him for so long; He was also the first to support him when he proposed the change.
“I was actually able to call him when he was standing, waiting to walk to the 18th green (for the trophy presentation),” Schauffele said. “It was a disaster. He was crying on the phone. He moved me quite a bit. I told him I had to hang up because he had to walk down. I couldn’t present myself the way I looked. …My dad, his goal: he’s been my swing coach and my mentor my entire life, and his goal really was, as any good father would want, to simply prepare his son for a successful future. . He really meant that. He said: In what capacity am I going to help you this week? He sent me positive texts all week, all week, even last week too.”
It is not surprising. Xander’s journey is, and always has been, a family affair.
(Top photo of Xander and Maya Schauffele: Andrew Redington//Keynote USA/Getty Images)
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