Xander Schauffele went through a swing of emotion at Le Golf National. He was ‘bu**-hurt’ because of how he played on Sunday. But then gold medalist Scottie Scheffler was his compatriot too. And that complicates things.

Schauffele admits it was kind of ‘weird.’ The defending champion walked into the final round with a share of the overnight lead. But after rounds of 65, 66, and 68, The 30-year-old failed to break par, carding a 2-over 73 on Sunday, marked by a double and two bogeys in the back nine. The Tokyo Gold medalist had to settle for a T9 instead of a seemingly guaranteed podium finish.

He was bummed. “ It’s the weirdest feeling. I was watching from the sort of family section, the podium, and when Scottie was up there and our flag was raised and he started crying up there, I was b**t-hurt about my own round, and then I was sitting there like, yeah, this is pretty cool,” Xander Schauffele said.

Nevertheless, instead of the front-row seat to Scheffler’s tearful moment, it could’ve been him on the podium. However, the ‘cool’ thing was that ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ was playing, and the reigning Open champion was humming the national anthem. The patriotic fervor triumphed over any personal hurt.

“I was bu**-hurt about how I played and then sorta proud and happy that Scottie won it. It’s such a — it’s hard to explain, the swing of it,” Schauffele repeated in the pre-tournament press conference. Perhaps the word he was searching for, what he calls the ‘weird’ feeling, was ‘bittersweet.’

In a sport rooted in individual brilliance, occasions are rare when you can truly root for your regular competitor. Other than two biennial events, players, despite their off-course camaraderie, are mostly at each other’s throats on the greens. Xander Schauffele knows it’s no different this week, and that perplexes him to no end.

The FedEx Cup has turned into a duel between Xander Schauffele and Scottie Scheffler

Schauffele is at TPC Southwind to end Scheffler’s dominance in regular PGA Tour events. Currently, Scottie Scheffler holds a 1936-point lead over Schauffele. Oddly enough, they are in the same group in the first round of the FedEx St. Jude Championship.

Schauffele, picking up the thread from Le Golf National, continued, “Then out here this week playing with him these next two days and we’re all just trying to beat our heads in. It’s a funny feeling.” He has already come second twice to Scheffler this season.

First at THE PLAYERS Championship, and then at the Comcast Business Top-10, which rewards the top point-earner after the end of regular season events. At TPC Summerwind, the 30-year-old looks to turn the table. Scheffler and Schauffele tee off at 1.45 p.m. EST.