Xander Schauffele has been on an impressive streak recently, following his victory at The Open and his strong performance at the Olympic men’s tournament, where he’s tied for first place. However, things took an unexpected turn on the 13th hole during Day 2 at Le Golf National.
Schauffele was performing well, sitting at 5 under through 12 holes when he pulled his drive to the left of the 13th fairway. As he approached his ball, he noticed an issue. “I was putting my club down and the grass was kind of fluffy,” Schauffele explained. “I was taking practice swings, trying to get to my ball, and I couldn’t figure out what was going on. Something was behind my ball.”
Upon closer inspection, Schauffele realized it was a pile of ants. “I called an official. It was just ants. It was their home; I didn’t want to mess with it.”
Schauffele inquired if he could use a golf club to scrape the loose sand behind his ball. The official allowed it, but Schauffele sought a second opinion. “My gut was like, oh boy, am I really going to use my club, have it on film, and then talk to you [the media] after?” he said. The second official clarified that while he couldn’t move the grass, he could use a tee to move the ants. Ultimately, Schauffele decided not to do anything and hacked out 50 yards onto the fairway.
Despite the setback, Schauffele recovered with a birdie on No. 14, finishing with a 5-under 66. This keeps him in a strong position to compete for his second gold medal.