Schauffele opens up before Scottish Open tee-off.
Xander Schauffele News Emerges Before Scottish Open on Tuesday originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
The Genesis Scottish Open tees off Thursday at the Renaissance Club in East Lothian, featuring one of the strongest non-major fields on the PGA Tour this season.
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, No. 2 Rory McIlroy and No. 3 Xander Schauffele headline a star-studded lineup that will battle for the $9 million purse one week ahead of The Open Championship.
Schauffele, who captured his second major at The Open Championship in July 2024, addressed how that victory has reshaped his approach during Tuesday’s pre-event press conference. And it's absolutely what one might expect.
“I drank a little bit more than I normally do, that was probably the biggest change that I had in my life, trending towards an alcoholic (laughter). It’s been awesome," he quipped.
"I really don’t feel like—it’s been a weird year for me just from coming off the year I had last year into sort of what I did just kind of disappearing and then playing bad coming out of it." Schauffele continued.
"So any expectation I had of whatever I thought I was capable of doing, you know, from a feel standpoint last year, has been sort of reset and I am in full chase mode, like a kid.” he added.
Despite that lighthearted confession, Schauffele has endured a challenging 2025 campaign. A rib injury sidelined him for eight weeks, and he’s struggled to rediscover the form that saw him birdie his way to a 65-final round at Royal Troon.
'It's a battle' right now for Xander Schauffele.
— GOLF.com (@GOLF_com) July 8, 2025
A year ago, he was on top of the golf world. But a frustrating and humbling season has left him searching for what once was. pic.twitter.com/pXMziURTpH
"I don't go to bed at night saying, please talk about me. It was nice to see my photo out by the toilet. That was heartwarming. Summed up how I feel about what's going on right now. I actually chuckled when I saw that one." Schauffele said when asked about whether he also wants to be part of the conversation like Scheffler and McIlroy.
“What would make me really happy is that I can just play freely,” he added, noting that shaking off swing tinkering could be as meaningful as another victory.
As Schauffele seeks to convert renewed confidence into low scores, all eyes will be on whether the 31-year-old can rekindle last summer’s magic.
Related: Scottie Scheffler’s Guest Ahead of Scottish Open Is Turning Heads
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 8, 2025, where it first appeared.
Category: General Sports
