Xander Schauffele has just posted his worst result in nearly four years. The American fell short of the cut line by one shot at the Farmers Insurance Open, ending his run of 72 straight made cuts – a span that lasted 1,391 days.
Xander Schauffele has just posted his worst result in nearly four years.
The American fell short of the cut line by one shot at the Farmers Insurance Open, ending his run of 72 straight made cuts – a span that lasted 1,391 days.
While you would expect some frustration, especially with Torrey Pines being a home course for him, Schauffele seemed more relaxed about it. He even said he was looking forward to the unexpected time off to be with family.
In some ways, the break might work in his favour. With no streak left to protect, Schauffele can refocus without added pressure. But there is another issue: an offseason adjustment seems to have worsened the form he struggled with throughout 2025.
Xander Schauffele says driver switch has unsettled his entire game
Schauffele had hoped to carry the momentum from his Baycurrent Classic win into the new season. But after a few months away from the sport to look after his newborn son, it seems he is still searching for that same form.
After missing the cut, the 32-year-old explained that a driver change over the offseason had impacted his play throughout the bag.
He was asked to explain the issues that arose at Torrey Pines, and replied: “Several things. Kind of had some last minute tweaks to equipment and it really affected me through my bag, I thought.
“So unfortunate I didn’t get that dialled in the offseason, but it is what it is. So here I am. I’ll spend this weekend cleaning it up.”
Pushed for more details on those changes, Schauffele added: “Just some driver stuff. Driver, shaft, trying to get the combination right.
“I don’t like switching stuff and I switched, and then when you switch back, things kind of feel weird. You start swinging to fit the club and if kind of affects like everything down the bag. So not a great place to do it.”
Torrey Pines is not exactly forgiving for anyone working through technical adjustments, so this was not an ideal setting for such a transition. He will be hoping these issues can be sorted quickly so he does not repeat last year’s struggles.
Xander Schauffele admits he is ‘tired’ of trying to fix his game
Schauffele suffered a rib injury in late 2024 and has been unsuccessfully trying to regain his two-time major-winning form, a process he finds exhausting.
The 32-year-old was asked to comment on his progress towards finding his optimal game, to which he replied: “Yeah, surprisingly, it feels kind of close. You know, good warmups, like I’ve had really nice warmups on the range. Tournament golf’s a little different, everything is a little bit different when the gun goes off.
“I think I got a little bit more comfortable with the driver coming down the stretch. I mean, shoot, the fact that I was close to the cut is pretty amazing. I think I hit three fairways on South and (indiscernible) had some side action if I was going to hit the fairway. I think I hit my first fairway on the North Course on 18.
“So it was – I’m tired, I’m tired from just trying to get it together.”
No matter what level you’re playing at as an athlete or in life in general – there are not many things harder than chasing something you know you have in you but can’t quite access.
Let us hope Schauffele has another push left in him so he can go after Scottie Scheffler once again.
Category: General Sports
