LOUISVILLE — Tiger Woods walked into the interview tent beyond the 18th green at Valhalla, expecting to discuss his first round at the PGA Championship, when he stopped suddenly. Xander Schauffele was still talking, going over the specifics of his own record-setting round, and Woods backed away to let him speak.
When you match an all-time majors record, even the GOATs give you room to speak.
Schauffele finished Thursday with a 9-under 62, only the fourth 62 in major championship history and the lowest score in PGA Championship history. Even more impressive: Schauffele already owns one of those prior three 62s, carded last year at the U.S. Open. (The other two belong to Rickie Fowler, also at last year’s U.S. Open, and Branden Grace at the 2017 Open Championship. Perhaps ominously, none of the prior three went on to win.)
Every magnificent Schauffele statistic — and there are many — comes with an asterisk, a neon-glowing “Yeah, but …” Schauffele is a gold medalist. He’s ranked third in the world, and he’s carded eight top-10 finishes in 12 events this season. He’s clearly capable of throwing darts at majors. Since 2017, he has 12 top-10 finishes in majors and only three missed cuts.
Yeah, but … he hasn’t closed the deal on a single one of those majors yet. Maybe this is the year.
This story is developing
