As someone who has held the unofficial title of “greatest player to win a major tournament,” Xander Schauffele can understand Rory McIlroy’s decision to sit out this week’s Travelers Championship.
After missing two short putts over the final three holes Sunday to finish second by one stroke behind Bryson DeChambeau at the U.S. Open, McIlroy left Pinehurst No. 2 without speaking to reporters and announced the next day that he would not play . again until next month’s Scottish Open.
McIlroy’s decade-long major drought will last at least until the Open Championship in July. Meanwhile, Schauffele is still riding high from his first major title at last month’s PGA Championship.
Until he outlasted DeChambeau with a stroke at Valhalla Golf Club, Schauffele had a reputation for struggling to close on final-round leads.
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The story of McIlroy’s dramatic final round that turned into heartbreak with three bogeys in his final four holes
“As a competitor, we’ve all had our ups and downs to some extent. It’s a tough time,” Schauffele said when asked Tuesday how much empathy he has for McIlroy’s current situation.
“I’m sure he and his team are discussing what happened and sometimes you just have to step away from everything and really try to be as objective as possible, because you’re really in the moment and this is obviously not the case.
“He needs time away to understand what’s going on.”
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Highlights from a thrilling US Open final round at Pinehurst No. 2
McIlroy was criticized for wrapping up Pinehurst and returning home without speaking to reporters after Sunday’s final round. He released a statement Monday congratulating DeChambeau and announcing he would be taking a break from golf for a few weeks.
The Northern Irishman admitted it was “probably the toughest day” of his professional career but vowed to be resilient as he returns for the Scottish Open followed by the Open at Royal Troon.
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Paul McGinley thinks McIlroy’s drought in major golf tournaments is because he ‘didn’t take initiative,’ but Brandel Chamblee thinks it’s because his swing isn’t as good anymore than before.
“It’s different for everyone. It’s hard for me to compare my losses to his,” Schauffele said. “I would say his, he’s a little more under the microscope. When things are going really well, people are all around him, and unfortunately, when things don’t go the way you want them to, people are everywhere around him.
“So there’s a microscope on him to understand why he didn’t win and things of that nature and he’s going to have to answer those questions at some point and he will, because he always does. So, for me, I wear them pretty hard, but sometimes it’s nice to get back on the horse and compete.”
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Nick Faldo and Wayne Riley were baffled by some of the decisions McIlroy was making near the end of his final round at the US Open, which he lost by one stroke to DeChambeau.
Schauffele is coming off a T7 at the US Open, the seventh top 10 in the last eight individual starts for the world No. 3 ranked player entering the final showpiece event of the year.
Schauffele also secured one of four spots on the U.S. team for the Paris Olympics, where he will defend his gold medal in August.
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“It’s super special,” he said. “It’s always an honor to represent your country in any given tournament or event, so it was a really cool thing that I was able to share with my family after winning the gold medal, and qualifying was my first goal this year. It’s a very difficult team to qualify for, as you saw on the American side.
“It was a really big goal for me to come back and I’m really looking forward to competing again.”
Watch Xander Schauffele at this week’s Travelers Championship, which you can watch live on Sky Sports Golf from Thursday at 5pm. Stream the PGA Tour, majors and more with NOW.
