Xander Schauffele had the title for too long, the title of best golfer on the PGA Tour without a major victory. He gladly relinquished that mantle on May 19, when his 6-foot put circled the cup and dropped, giving him the PGA Championship title at Valhalla in Louisville.“Just one box checked,” Schauffele told reporters at Pinehurst this week, as the U.S. Open was beginning. “(There are) a lot of unchecked boxes. I just checked one box, which is really cool, obviously a box very much at the top of my list. But still a lot more to do, obviously.”If you haven’t followed Shauffele, you should know this is an archetypal, Xander answer. He’s not apt to make bold, sweeping statements, or wild, celebratory gestures, not even after a career-defining putt. He’s may not be emotionally available, he’s just really good at golf, a science as much as an art.The Travelers Championship, which will bring nearly all of the top golfers on The Tour to the TPC River Highlands in Cromwell June 20-23, is a box Schauffele checked in 2022, the sixth of his his eight career wins. It wasn’t a major at that point, but it will have the feel of one now one of the PGA’s Signature Events, with its $20 million purse, close to $4 million to the winner. If they both approach the 18th green with a chance to win, it could be the culmination of a No.1-vs.No.2 showdown between Schauffele, who rose to No. 2 in the world after winning his major, and Scottie Scheffler, the Master’s Champ, who has been No.1 for a while.Dom Amore: Travelers Champ Keegan Bradley thriving through pro golf’s turmoilThis is the caliber of the duels in the sun we could be seeing in Connecticut every year, so long as the Travelers stays on top of its game. And if it comes down to that, Schauffele will be as excited as the rest of us, he just may not let it show. He’ll just look to check another box.“I obviously believe I can (catch him), but Scottie is doing incredible things,” Schauffele said. “Every week we play, he seems to build a bigger lead, and somehow make the mountain even taller for all of us to climb. That’s all he’s been doing, and hats off to him for being so consistent and playing at such a high level for such a long time. I believe I can do it, but it’s going to take some time.”Seems like an asset. Golf is, after all, the ultimate game of patience and yet Schauffele, 30, is sometimes perceived as too cool for school. From his father, Stefan, he learned the science, the mechanics of his swing, the optimal flight of the ball. Throughout his career he has been committed to “process.” Results are what they are. Were his close-but-no-cigar finishes at several majors — both Schauffeles love their cigars, by the way — the result of a lack of fire, or hunger?Nonsense, as Schauffele showed when he won his duel with the uh, less reserved Bryson DeChambeau at Valhalla to cop the PGA.“It’s just sort of how my brain ticks,” Schauffele explained. “It really is just a result at the end of the day. You plug yourself into this equation, and you hope what you have is good enough. Most times when you make it too big in your head, you don’t really show up or show out to the best of your natural ability. For me that’s the case at least. If I get too (much) in my own head, I don’t perform at a high enough level because I put too much pressure on myself, so I’ve learned to take a step back and sort of let it be and let myself play the best golf I can.”Scottie Scheffler unstoppable and wins another Masters green jacketSchauffele’s father and great grandfathers were stars in soccer and track in Europe, sports better known for outward showing of passion. Xander’s laid-back brand was ingrained in Southern California, as a high school and amateurs champ, at Long Beach and San Diego State. He seemed destined for stardom when he turned pro in 2015, and won twice as a rookie in 2016. Then came a Gold Medal at the Olympics in 2021, and three wins in ’22, including the Travelers, where he finished 19-under to win by two strokes, playing rock-steady golf for four days to outlast others riding the ups and downs.In all sports, indeed most endeavors, an aura of calm and poise can also be mistaken for a lack of passion. Screaming, pounding a desk or breaking a club doesn’t mean you want to succeed more than the next person, trust me, just that you deal differently.So Schauffele’s competitors and colleagues have long understood and admired his even personality. Schauffele has finished as high as tied for second or third at each of the majors before breaking through May 19.As Sahith Theegala falters, Xander Schauffele calmly birdies final hole to win Travelers Championship“Proud of Xander for finally getting the job done,” DeChambeau told reporters following the tournament. “I mean, he’s an amazing golfer and well deserved major champion now. He’s played well for a long, long time. It’s cool to see him; not only he’s just a great human being, but an unbelievable golfer.”Schauffele and Scheffler are close enough to be in a group text where golfers took part in ribbing Scheffler in Louisville over his arrest, even before all charges were dropped to bringing the episode to a close. They were in the same group with Rory McIlroy kicking off the U.S. Open at Pinehurst.If the No.1 spot in the world doesn’t change hands there, it could be on the line on a Sunday in Cromwell on June 23. Though the course has been changed, with the aim to make it a little trickier, the world’s best still figure to burn it up, weather permitting. A Scheffler-Schauffele showdown? Pretty exciting stuff, right? Biggest thing ever! Time to cut loose.On your mark, get set … chill.“Golf is a tricky one,” Schauffele said. “It’s not like other sports. I mean, you’re not sitting there showboating, you’re not going nuts, going crazy. Tiger (Woods) was the best at it because it was so genuine, it was so raw. I think that’s why we all felt it when he was doing it because he would use that energy, and it would just run through his entire round of golf.“If I was to do that, I would get super fired up and then airmail a wedge on one green and three-putt the next hole, and I’d do all this crazy stuff that I wouldn’t normally do because that is just not how I play golf. If you can let it ride, it’s a good thing, I think, let it ride. But for me, I kind of know what lane I’m supposed to be in.”
sekar nallalu Connecticut News,Cryptocurrency,Golf,Local News,News,Sports,Travelers Championship Dom Amore: With cool precision, Xander Schauffele strives for the top of PGA world at The Travelers