Xander Schauffele has finished in the top 10 in 18 of his 35 major starts. That means more than half the time, he’s near the top of the leaderboard when it matters most. This week, he comes to Aronimink Golf Club with his confidence lower than it’s been in years, after finishing tied for 60th at Quail Hollow last week, 17 shots behind the leader. Still, the stats show that Schauffele’s performance in regular-season events and in major championships seems to follow different patterns. That difference is no accident.

“My dad always tried to instill something in my head when I would compete to sort of rise to the occasion, or when I had to do something, I would do it. He would definitely remind me of the times that I did.” Schauffele remarked in the interview.

This approach was intentional. Stefan Schauffele focused on reviewing Xander’s successful moments, not his failures. The goal was to reinforce how pressure could be used as an advantage, not something to avoid. As a result, Xander enters major championships prepared to use the environment to his benefit, not just to cope with it.

“As you get into the thick of it, it gets even more stressful. Things heighten.” Schauffele continued, “It’s the most fun I think us pros can have playing this sport, sort of being in those spots.”

These comments, taken from a recent PGA Tour Instagram clip ahead of the 2026 PGA Championship, do not reflect a player struggling with nerves. Instead, they show a player who is comfortable in high-pressure situations. Schauffele has said he has always welcomed this kind of challenge, and his record in major championships supports that this is a consistent part of his approach, not just a perception.

Schauffele’s results at the PGA Championship before Valhalla show steady progress: a T10 at TPC Harding Park in 2020, a T13 at Southern Hills in 2022, and regular contention on Sundays, though without a win. His U.S. Open record is even more consistent, with top-10 finishes in seven of nine starts, including five straight top-7 results to begin his career, a fifth at Winged Foot in 2020, and a third at Pebble Beach in 2019. The U.S. Open, known for testing players’ composure, is where Schauffele’s consistency is most evident.

At Augusta National, he has finished in the top 10 five times in nine tries, including a tie for second in 2019, just one shot behind Tiger Woods, and a tie for third in 2021. He came within a stroke of winning a green jacket before ever claiming a major. This trend shows up across all four majors: he is not someone who plays well only under pressure, but a player whose standard performance improves even more when the stakes are high.

The night before the final round at Valhalla in 2024, Stefan texted Xander from Hawaii with a simple message: a constant drip wears away the stone. The next day, Schauffele shot 65, made birdie on the 72nd hole, and edged out Bryson DeChambeau by one stroke at a record 21-under par to claim his first major title.

Xander Schauffele’s major record proves the method holds under pressure

Schauffele’s 2024 victories followed years of close calls that would have unsettled most players. He was runner-up at the 2018 Open Championship at Carnoustie and missed out on a Masters win by a single stroke that same year. For six years, he did not win, but he consistently finished in the top 10. Maintaining a 51.4% top-10 rate across 36 major starts shows that he did not let repeated disappointments affect his performance. Instead, each result reinforced his ability to compete at the highest level.

When the breakthrough came, it confirmed what the near-misses had quietly been building. Schauffele became the first player in history to close two separate majors in the same year with a final-round 65. Stefan handed the coaching reins to Chris Como ahead of the 2024 season, but the mental framework built across two decades of father-son work was never part of the handoff. It stayed exactly where it had always lived.

Schauffele admitted on Tuesday that his confidence going into Aronimink is lower than it was before Valhalla. He called confidence a tricky thing. That reflects the reality of a tough week, but it does not determine how he performs under increased pressure. His record—five top-10s in his last six starts before last week—shows that his form is solid. His recent comments confirm that his mindset remains strong.