Coming off his first major victory at last month's PGA Championship, Xander Schauffele considers his game to be at a high level as he prepares to defend his Olympic title in Paris.
Schauffele will return to competition in Thursday's first round of the PGA Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village as the PGA Tour's final tune-up for next week's U.S. Open at Pinehurst.
Schauffele, ranked second in the world, sank a crucial birdie putt on the final hole to beat fellow American Bryson DeChambeau by one stroke at Valhalla last month for his first victory in two years.
While Schauffele isn't inflating his ego with this victory, he does recognize that his game has reached a level comparable to world number one Scottie Scheffler, who won the Masters in April, and world number three Rory McIlroy, a four-time major champion.
“Winning tournaments is really about the results,” he said. “What differentiates players here is the ability to hit certain shots. When you look at players like Scotty or Rory or any of the top players, when they're playing at a really high level, they stand out from the crowd.”
“Just playing, I feel like I've stepped into that territory a little bit. I feel like my game is definitely at a little bit more of an elite level.”
“It doesn't really change how I feel about myself or anything like that. I think it's just the quality of shots I can hit that will dictate it.”
The big win lands Schauffele a spot on the U.S. team that will compete for the gold medal later this summer in France, in what is expected to be a vastly different atmosphere than the pandemic-prevention conditions in Tokyo three years ago.
“It was an incredible experience, and I think this year, not being in a pandemic and being able to have people participate, it's going to be an even more incredible experience,” Schauffele said Tuesday.
“I think it's coming together nicely, there are people wanting to participate and I think it's going to be a great tournament.”
For Schauffele, the win will have special meaning because, while Xander's grandfathers were track and field and soccer stars, winning in Japan fulfilled a dream for his German-born father, Stefan,'s family.
“The way my dad raised me and the advice he gave me and where that came from and him wanting to be an Olympian is totally different,” Schauffele said.
“I feel like I'm different than other people who go to the Olympics because I grew up getting advice from people who wanted to be Olympians, or their father's father, or whatever.”
– No jet lag until Paris –
Golf's global schedule will help prepare Schauffele for his Olympic challenge: He's scheduled to play in the Scottish Open in July, a week before the British Open at Royal Troon in Scotland.
“I want to take advantage of my experience playing golf overseas, and fortunately I'm going to be playing the British Open, so the time difference won't be too big,” Schauffele said.
“A lot of the players are in Scotland playing to get into the same form for the British Open so I'll be there for a few more weeks.”
“I'm planning on staying. I'm not really sure where I'll be staying, but I'll be staying somewhere where I can relax a bit after the majors and also prepare for the Olympics.”
“There's a lot of big tournaments coming up, and I've just finished a major tournament right before that, so I don't think it'll be too hard to be fully prepared for it.”
The final major of the year will be held on a course in Scotland from 18-21 July, while the men's Olympic final will be held at Le Golf National from 1-4 August.
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