LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Maya Schauffele apologized once, then twice.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I’m blacking out.”
Her emotions were raw after watching her husband, Xander Schauffele, claim his first major professional golf championship in 29 tries, dropping a 6-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole for a 21-under-par, one-stroke victory at the 106th PGA Championship.
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As she stood beyond the scoring tent at Valhalla Golf Club, her eyes were hidden by dark sunglasses. And yet it was obvious tears were forming. The quiver in her voice was the giveaway.
“This means everything,” she said. “Everything that he has worked hard for, it just goes to show that you’ll see results if you put in the work. He deserves it more than anything. Why do I say that? I’ve seen the dedication, the work that he puts in, the hours. Even during off weeks, there’s never an off week; they’re constantly practicing. The grind never stops.”
The victory came exactly one week after Schauffele squandered a one-stroke lead and lost by five at the Wells Fargo Championship. It was the sixth time in his career he had come up short after going into the final round with the lead or a share of it, and some were openly questioning whether he had what it takes to finish. He was already known as the world’s best player to have never won a major, and the louder those voices became this week, the more they motivated the laid-back but uber-competitive Schauffele.
Maya could sense it, even if those precise words were never spoken.
“I’m sure that chip that was on his shoulder is gone, oh, my goodness,” she said, pausing momentarily before continuing. “I’m really quite emotional. I think what this means to him is that this is exactly what he’s meant to do — to play golf at this level. He’s doing what he loves.”
She paused again.
“I’m sorry, I’m blacking out right now.”
Xander Schauffele celebrates with longtime caddie Austin Kaiser after winning the PGA Championship. (Michael Reaves / Getty Images)
She was standing with other members of the Schauffele family and inner circle, and if one thing came through more than anything else, it is that Schauffle’s journey is not his alone. It also belongs to everyone around him, including Maya, his rock; Stefan Schauffele, his father; Austin Kaiser, his caddie and close friend; Chris Como and Derek Uyeda, his coaches; Ross Chouler, his agent; Nico Schauffele, his older brother and road chef; and Ronna Semonian and Marnus Marais, his physical therapists and trainers.
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“I’m a big believer of getting the right foundation, the right people around you, having a good team around you,” Schauffele said. “I believe that if you put in the hard work and you let yourself do what you think you can do, you’re going to have some fruits to the labor.”
Others might have doubted him, but never those around him. Even amid the disappointment of the previous week, when Rory McIlroy overtook Schauffele on the back nine despite Schauffele’s leading after each of the first three rounds, Schauffele shook Kaiser’s hand on the 18th green at Quail Hollow and said: “We’re going to get one soon, kid.”
There was substance to not only the words but also their relationship.
“I said, ‘I love you, man,’” Kaiser recalled, sweat still forming on his face as he stood outside the scoring tent, Schaufelle’s golf bag draped over his shoulder. “We’ve been through it all. We’ve been through a lot of stuff. I’m proud of him.”
There always has been respect for Schauffele’s game, but there always seemed to be a “yeah, but” entering this week. For instance:
• He has 12 top 10s in 28 major appearances before this week. Yeah, but no victories.
• He has seven top-10 finishes in 13 PGA Tour events this season. Yeah, but no victories.
• He has participated in eight PGA Championships. Yeah, but he’s never finished in the top five.
And yet any questions about his mental toughness were answered on back-to-back holes on the back nine Sunday, when, after sending his tee shot into the right bunker on the par-5 10th, he chose to use a fairway wood despite being 284 yards out and hitting off of sand. He was up one stroke at the time and could have played it safe, but no.
The ball landed in the rough and prevented him from getting any spin on his ensuing wedge shot, which rolled past the hole and onto the fringe, resulting in a two-putt bogey that cost him the lead.
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With most everyone harking back to the previous weekend and wondering whether his overaggressiveness might be the beginning of another downfall, Schauffele refused to recoil. He stepped to the tee box on No. 11 and went flag hunting, 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 displayed Saturday, when he followed a double on No. 15 with consecutive birdies. If there was one thing he was not going to do this week, it was play scared. He committed to whatever shot he settled on, a lesson that was reinforced to him the previous week.
“Grit,” Kaiser said. “That’s who he is as a person.”
The victory was delicious for multiple reasons, perhaps most because it confirmed he made the right choice several months ago when he brought in Como to replace his dad as his coach. Stefan is the one who introduced him to the game, the one who coached him for so long; he also was the first in line to support him when he proposed the switch.
“I was actually able to call him when I was standing, waiting to walk onto the 18th green (for the trophy presentation),” Schauffele said. “He was a mess. He was crying on the phone. It made me pretty emotional. I told him I had to hang up because I had to walk down. I couldn’t show up looking like the way I was. … My dad, his goal — he’s been my swing coach and my mentor my entire life, and his goal really was to, just like any good dad would want, just to set your kid up for a successful future. He really meant that. He was like, what capacity am I going to help you this week? He sent me positive texts throughout the week, all week, even last week, as well.”
No surprise there. Xander’s journey is, and always has been, a family affair.
(Top photo of Xander and Maya Schauffele: Andrew Redington / Getty Images)
Jim Trotter is a national columnist for The Athletic based in San Diego. He previously worked for NFL Media, ESPN, Sports Illustrated and The San Diego Union-Tribune. A proud graduate of Howard University, he is a Pro Football Hall of Fame voter and a former president of Pro Football Writers of America. He has authored two books, including “Junior Seau: The Life and Death of a Football Icon,” and is a regular fill-in guest host on “Brother From Another” on Peaco*ck TV. Follow Jim on Twitter @JimTrotter_NFL
