Xander Schauffele admits first major win has got rid of the chip on his shoulder

When Xander Schauffele carded a record-equalling 62 within the opening spherical of the 106th US PGA Championship, the jokes quickly adopted.

“Schauffele staking his declare for 2nd place” learn a typical submit on social media, certainly one of many variations on a theme which took intention at Schauffele’s popularity for failing to transform leads into victories.

Three days later it was Schauffele who had the final snicker as he secured his first main title with a wire-to-wire victory at Valhalla in a file complete of 21 beneath par.

The style of the win was the right response to his critics, Schauffele holding his nerve to birdie the 72nd gap to keep away from a play-off with former US Open champion Bryson DeChambeau, who had birdied the identical gap minutes earlier to pile on the stress.

It got here simply seven days after Schauffele had given critics of his incapacity to shut out tournaments much more ammunition as he didn’t convert a 54-hole lead within the Wells Fargo Championship.

“All these shut requires me, even final week, that type of feeling, it will get to you sooner or later,” Schauffele admitted.

“It simply makes this even sweeter. I do know it’s a serious, however simply successful basically that is as candy because it will get for me.”

Requested how he had been affected by the narrative of his close to misses, Schauffele added: “Undoubtedly a chip on the shoulder there.

“You guys are asking the questions, probing, and I’ve to take a seat right here and reply it. It’s loads simpler to reply it with this factor [Wanamaker Trophy] sitting subsequent to me now, clearly.

“It’s simply gas, gas to my fireplace. It at all times has been rising up, and it actually was main as much as this.”

Schauffele had been with no win since a golden three-week interval in 2022, when he tasted victory within the Vacationers Championship in the USA, the JP McManus Professional-Am in Eire and the Genesis Scottish Open.

Tied with Collin Morikawa after 54 holes at Valhalla, Schauffele appeared to have one hand on the Wanamaker Trophy when he reached the flip with a two-shot lead, solely to bogey the par-five tenth as Viktor Hovland birdied the twelfth two teams forward.

“Somebody like me that hasn’t gained in two years has just about tried every part, to be fully trustworthy,” Schauffele mentioned.

“You attempt not to have a look at the leaderboards till the again 9, you attempt not to have a look at them early, you attempt not to have a look at them in any respect. At this time I checked out them. I checked out all of them day.

“I actually wished to really feel every part. I wished to handle every part that I used to be feeling within the second.”

Hovland’s birdie on the thirteenth gave the Ryder Cup star the outright lead, an unwelcome growth which Schauffele found as he confronted a birdie putt on the eleventh.

“I believed I had the lead, so I when appeared up on the leaderboard I used to be like, oof, Viktor was at 19 (beneath), so I used to be again into chasing mode and I knew that putt was actually massive within the event,” Schauffele mentioned.

With that putt efficiently transformed, Schauffele additionally made a birdie on the twelfth and one other on the 18th – arrange by an excellent second shot from a clumsy stance in a fairway bunker – to seal a dramatic win.

It lifted the 30-year-old from San Diego to a career-high second on this planet rankings and may guarantee he’ll have the ability to defend his Olympic title in Paris.

“That’s only a cherry on high,” Schauffele mentioned. “That was my aim, clearly, to qualify. The US workforce is a robust one. It’s a tough one to qualify for.

“I think about this win in all probability secures me into qualifying for the Olympics. That’s a complete completely different ball recreation, successful that one, however I’ll positively have the ability to pull some confidence from this factor.”