Xander Schauffele cannot improve on his FedEx Cup position during the new Fall schedule, but several factors drew him to this week’s Zozo Championship in Japan.
First is family.
Schauffele’s mother grew up in Japan and he has been able to spend time this week with his grandparents, who live in Tokyo.
“I have family here and to be able to sort of split the workload and seeing my grandparents is really cool, I wouldn’t pass that up for anything,” he said Tuesday at Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club.
The second reason is purely professional.
Schauffele, 29, won the Olympic gold medal in the Tokyo Games in 2021 and said the importance of that victory increases every year, especially when he visits Japan.
“It kind of gets better as time goes on,” he said Tuesday. “I can hear people in Japanese saying, ‘Oh, there’s a gold medalist’ when I walk by, so it’s pretty cool.”
Schauffele’s affinity for Japan is why he is one of only five players to have competed in all five previous editions of the Zozo Championship. His best previous result was a tie for ninth last year, but he has added motivation entering this year’s tournament.
Schauffele pushed Viktor Hovland down the stretch of the Tour Championship and while he led the field in total strokes for the week at East Lake, he ultimately finished second in the FedEx Cup playoffs. He has nine top-20s in 20 events this year, but his last win came at the 2022 Genesis Open 15 months ago.
“Of course, winning is a very important thing and sort of how our careers are judged, and I wasn’t able to win,” he said. “But the season isn’t over yet.
“I’m still chasing a win this season and only have a few opportunities left to get that done.”
–Field Level Media