Back in 2022, Xander Schauffele claimed that LIV Golf didn’t boast a strong enough field to attract his interest. While speaking to Dylan Dethier, he said, “I want to play against the best players in the world, and they’re on the PGA Tour. Nobody that has left has moved the needle for me.” The picture was clear in his head; he was already in a place where he was competing against some of the best golfers in the world. But by making such a statement, he also threw a sly jab at major winners like Dustin Johnson and Phil Mickelson. However, he seems to have a change of heart now.

Schauffele shared a slide of pictures celebrating a national holiday and in anticipation of the 2025 Ryder Cup. And one of them featured his iconic picture with the towering Johnson from the 2020 edition of the prestigious event. The caption read, “Happy 4th 🇺🇸,” celebrating the American Independence Day on July 4th, 2025. While he could have used numerous pictures of himself from the 2023 edition of the event, he specifically chose one from Whistling Straits to include the 4Aces GC captain in the conversation.

The two made an excellent team on the first-day four-ball contest that saw them beat Paul Casey & Bernd Wiesberger 2 & 1. In total, across 8 matches they played, they earned Team U.S. 7 points, which only added to their 10-point dominating triumph in the end. While the two might not team up in the 2025 Ryder Cup, considering that Johnson is not in contention to make the squad. However, the animosity between them seems to have disappeared, at least from Xander’s end.

Interestingly, Schauffele’s stance on his peers from LIV Golf has softened over time. And that has been reflected in his statements about the players recently. Let’s see what the 31-year-old has said.

Xander Schauffele doesn’t hold grudges against LIV golfers anymore

The tensions may have been high back in 2022 when many LIV Golf pros betrayed the PGA Tour to jump ship. So Xander Schauffele & Co.’s frustration towards them was justified back then. However, the situation is a bit different today. Over the last three years, the golfers from the Saudi-based promotion have focused on developing their Tour while also improving their own game. That has helped them achieve success within the league and also internationally. Just look at Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka, who are both major winners from the last couple of years.

Speaking of the two, Schauffele had some positives to say about them specifically. In fact, he had mentioned how he admired the two fellow American golfers for their abilities on the course. The 2-time major winner said, “I think when I look at his game (McIlroy) and what he can do — I look back at my game, and he was one of the examples at that time. I used him, Brooks, Bryson; those guys were all a lot stronger than me; they hit it further than me; they did certain things way better than I did. That was one of the areas I like to where I tried to pick up some of that slack.”

Apart from Brooks and Bryson, Xander also likes to take inspiration from world #2, Rory McIlroy, when it comes to driving. Both the Irishman and the Crushers GC captain are prolific strikers of the ball from the tee box. Koepka is also outstanding with his accuracy using the driver, despite what the fans saw in the tee box at LIV Golf Dallas recently.

It’s evident that Xander Schauffele doesn’t hold any animosity toward LIV Golf pros anymore. The only question is, is he over the entire episode, or is there something more to the story that might be revealed in the 2026 season of LIV Golf?