Xander Schauffele knows how quickly a major championship round can fall apart. He experienced it in the 2021 Masters Tournament, where he gifted the Green Jacket to Hideki Matsuyama due to his impatience. At the Saturday press conference after a round of 4-under 66 at the 2026 PGA Championship, the 2x major winner peeled back the curtain on those exact moments to give a glimpse of how golf’s steadiest stars view pressure. His description was blunt but honest.

“I think if you can control your ball and hit certain shots, it will definitely give you that confidence, but no matter how great of golf you’re playing, you’ll see anyone slip up at certain moments. The best always seem to collect themselves in the toughest moments. And early on, I felt like there were times where 9 or 12 holes would pass, and I’m like ‘holy smokes’, I’m like 5-over par, like the whole what is happening thing,” Schauffele told the media.

Schauffele may be one of the top golfers today. But he wasn’t always the world-beater he is at present. Although he was often considered one of the best golfers in the world, it took him time to find his pace on the fairway. In fact, this scenario that he is talking about perfectly reflects the scores he registered in his second-ever PGA Tour event.

Playing the 2016 Farmers Insurance Open, Schauffele scored four bogeys, one double bogey, and one birdie in his first 11 holes in the event. That landed him at a score of 5-over par with the majority of the tournament to play. He certainly didn’t last long after that, as the horrid start ensured that he would miss the cut on Friday evening. So he can sympathize with what Tommy Fleetwood and Bryson DeChambeau experienced after missing the cut at Aronimink Golf Club.

“I’d call those growing pains. Everyone goes through them. Everyone deals with it at multiple times in your career, at any moment in your career, and the more veteran guys are supposed to be the ones that can correct it as soon as possible.”

While the example was from early on in Schauffele’s career, he understands that it can happen to anyone at any point in their lives. And his only advice is to get over it as soon as possible.

He himself has been through a slump recently after a trip to Quail Hollow. And Schauffele didn’t shy away from expressing it.

Xander Schauffele’s roller coaster ride on the fairway

Xander Schauffele’s father always taught him to manage his stress and rise to the occasion every opportunity he gets. But even he wasn’t prepared for the tests that he would be put through on the fairway recently.

Just a week ago, Schauffele came off a poor performance in the Truist Championship. In a field of 72 players, he finished at T60, very close to the bottom of the leaderboard. And he wasn’t very pleased with his performance in the Signature event.

“It’s significantly lower, obviously. I finished close to last place last week. I tried my absolute hardest and almost came in last place last week, and that’s just sometimes how a bad day in the office goes, but still beats being inside. I’m looking forward to this week and sort of the rest of this year,” Schauffele told the media, hoping for a better run in the 2026 PGA Championship.

However, he didn’t have an ideal start to his major campaign this week. After a 2-under in the opening round, Schauffele shot a 3-over par on Friday to end up with a +1 on the leaderboard. However, he was able to recover with a 4-under 66 in the third round to finish in the top-10. Going into Championship Sunday, he will be very close to first place and in contention to win the Wanamaker Trophy for the second time in his illustrious career.