Xander Schauffele reveals what Tiger Woods texted him after US PGA win
Xander Schauffele revealed that Tiger Woods sent him a congratulatory message following his PGA Championship victory on Sunday. The 30-year-old finally broke through with his first major championship win at the PGA Championship last week. Schauffele, currently ranked World No. 2, held off challenges from Bryson DeChambeau and Viktor Hovland on the back nine at…
Xander Schauffele revealed that Tiger Woods sent him a congratulatory message following his PGA Championship victory on Sunday.
The 30-year-old finally broke through with his first major championship win at the PGA Championship last week. Schauffele, currently ranked World No. 2, held off challenges from Bryson DeChambeau and Viktor Hovland on the back nine at Valhalla. He sealed his victory with a birdie putt on the 18th, having led the tournament from start to finish.
Prior to this triumph, Schauffele had finished in the top 10 at major championships on 12 different occasions, but he and Woods believed these near misses only made him stronger. The Californian shared that the 15-time major winner sent him a heartwarming message after his victory.
“He texted me, ya know, and I think he is right; he’s been through it all himself,” Schauffele said on the Subpar podcast. “He texted me something along the lines of, ‘You know, all those times you were close, I think that hardened you for this moment … and I’m proud of you. It’s incredible. I couldn’t be more proud of you.’ That was an awesome text I got from T-Dub.”
Although it took him some time to clinch his first major title, Schauffele is not stopping there. He described the rush of being in contention at tournaments as an addictive feeling.
“It’s just like a drug,” he said. “You just wanna keep having that feeling. I think my favorite feeling in golf is to be in the hunt, regardless of the outcome or the result. That rush you feel when you are in contention coming down the stretch is why I love playing golf and why I love sport in general, and I have had a lot of that feeling, which is super fortunate for me. So the result of winning is obviously awesome, but getting in the hunt at these big tournaments is awesome.”