Tour Championship: Xander Schauffele makes a conscious choice to focus on himself instead of whole PGA Tour

Xander Schauffele: A Shift in Focus Leads to a Career-Best Season

As Xander Schauffele prepares to enter the FedEx Cup finale, he finds himself in an enviable position—ranked No. 2 in the standings. This marks his best start at the Tour Championship since his debut at East Lake Golf Club in 2017. Schauffele’s journey to this point has been remarkable, shaped by a conscious shift in focus that has allowed him to deliver one of the best seasons of his career.

Ahead of the tournament, PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan is expected to deliver his much-anticipated “State of the Tour” speech, addressing various issues surrounding professional golf. However, Schauffele is not among the players anxiously awaiting Monahan’s remarks. Instead, the 30-year-old has adopted a mindset centered on personal growth and performance, choosing to concentrate solely on his own game rather than the broader concerns of the PGA Tour.

“I haven’t paid attention, to be honest,” Schauffele admitted in a recent interview. “I’ve been a little busy with my own — with my head in the sand. I have been focusing on my own stuff, and I have not sat and asked a single person how the TOUR is doing because I care how Xander is doing, and that’s pretty much it.”

This inward focus has paid significant dividends for the nine-time PGA Tour winner. Schauffele’s stellar season includes victories at both the PGA Championship and The Open, securing half of the 2024 majors. His performance has been nothing short of exceptional, with 14 Top 10 finishes, 19 Top 25 finishes, and three runner-up placements in just 20 starts.

Schauffele’s decision to prioritize what he can control—his own game—has allowed him to excel. He humorously noted that he should probably pay more attention to emails from the PGA Tour, but ultimately, he chose to concentrate on what matters most: his performance on the course.

“It’s a very private matter what’s going on between — trying to make tours merge and the state of golf and those things,” Schauffele said. “Those are behind-closed-doors talks. It’s not a room I was ever in, and I haven’t thought much about it. That’s probably why I’ve been playing much better. I’ve just been focusing on my stuff.”

Schauffele’s consistency has been impressive. Since February, he hasn’t finished outside the Top 25, with his only blip being a T-54 finish at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. Following his victory at The Open, Schauffele has continued to post strong results, with T-9, T-2, and T-5 finishes in subsequent tournaments.

As he heads into the Tour Championship, Schauffele faces one final challenge at East Lake, a venue where he has enjoyed significant success in the past. Over his last five starts at the course, he has recorded seven Top 10 finishes and three runner-up placements, making him a formidable contender for the FedEx Cup.

Schauffele enters the tournament at 8-under, just two shots behind leader Scottie Scheffler. The two are set to tee off together at 2 p.m. for the first round, with Schauffele poised to potentially take the FedEx Cup from Scheffler based on his recent form.

For Schauffele, the decision to focus on himself rather than the external noise of professional golf has proven to be a game-changer. As he stands on the cusp of one of his best seasons yet, the golf world will be watching to see if his singular focus can carry him to ultimate victory at East Lake.