As soon as Xander Schauffele arrived at the par-4 18th hole of the final round on Saturday at the Baycurrent Classic, he chose an aggressive approach. He was hoping to find the fairway with his driver. But after sending his tee shot into the trees, he refused to play conservatively and attempted to recover. The gamble backfired, ultimately costing him a double bogey, something he feels was “unfortunate.”
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“I figured maybe 16 was enough for a playoff,” he said during Sunday’s presser. “It may not be, it may get to 17, so it was driver all day. Tough drive, but just a tight swing. I was hitting it pretty good for the most part, and I had a tight swing up the left. Was hit in the hill, and I think it hit somebody; it actually stayed up on the hill, which was unfortunate, but I shouldn’t have hit there in the first place.
“So made a mess of it coming out of the trees there, and I’m trying to hit it up on the green somehow. And yeah, no regrets [about] being aggressive trying to get myself in a spot to win.”
Schauffele may have few regrets, but the result stings—he was defending champion, having edged Max Greyserman by one stroke last year. Nevertheless, the 2017 Tour Championship winner put together a solid week, finishing tied for fourth at 13-under 271 with rounds of 70, 69, 65 and 67. By the end, Schauffele was three strokes behind winner Michael Brennan, tying with players including Stephan Jäger, Jordan Smith, and two others.
Though a win eluded him, Schauffele felt he “played good enough golf to win.” However, he acknowledged that lapses in concentration cost him valuable strokes, particularly on holes where he made avoidable bogeys from the fringe.
While he wished he could have those shots back, the American took encouragement from his overall performance, noting that he “struck it well and hit a lot of quality shots” after a dip in his approach play over the past year. Yet Schauffele, father of one, had another reason to return home happy: family time in Japan.
“Family’s been awesome,” he added. “I saw parts of my family throughout the course, and the fans have been awesome cheering me along. I know I’m not Japanese, but they kind of treat me like their own, so I appreciate it very much.”
Xander Schauffele made the trip to Japan with his wife, Maya, and their son, Victor, born in August 2025. The visit held special significance for the family, as it gave Victor the chance to meet his maternal great-grandparents for the first time.
He also struck gold at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, further cementing his connection with the country. While getting a win would have been special, playing there and finishing fourth appears to have satisfied Xander Schauffele. As for where he is heading next, he has not yet officially announced his next commitment on the PGA Tour’s FedExCup Fall schedule.
The next FedExCup Fall event is Bermuda from October 22 to 25. Whether Schauffele competes remains unclear.