(Photo credit score: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports)
Xander Schauffele can not enhance on his FedEx Cup place throughout the brand new Fall schedule, however a number of elements drew him to this week’s Zozo Championship in Japan.
First is household.
Schauffele’s mom grew up in Japan and he has been in a position to spend time this week along with his grandparents, who stay in Tokyo.
“I have family here and to be able to sort of split the workload and seeing my grandparents is really cool, I wouldn’t pass that up for anything,” he stated Tuesday at Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club.
The second purpose is only skilled.
Schauffele, 29, received the Olympic gold medal within the Tokyo Games in 2021 and stated the significance of that victory will increase yearly, particularly when he visits Japan.
“It kind of gets better as time goes on,” he stated Tuesday. “I can hear people in Japanese saying, ‘Oh, there’s a gold medalist’ when I walk by, so it’s pretty cool.”
Schauffele’s affinity for Japan is why he’s considered one of solely 5 gamers to have competed in all 5 earlier editions of the Zozo Championship. His greatest earlier end result was a tie for ninth final 12 months, however he has added motivation coming into this 12 months’s event.
Schauffele pushed Viktor Hovland down the stretch of the Tour Championship and whereas he led the sphere in whole strokes for the week at East Lake, he finally completed second within the FedEx Cup playoffs. He has 9 top-20s in 20 occasions this 12 months, however his final win got here on the 2022 Genesis Open 15 months in the past.
“Of course, winning is a very important thing and sort of how our careers are judged, and I wasn’t able to win,” he stated. “But the season is not over but.
“I’m still chasing a win this season and only have a few opportunities left to get that done.”
–Field Level Media