‘Couldn’t Care Less’: Xander Schauffele Turns a Cold Shoulder on Scottie Scheffler and Jon Rahm’s Player of the Year Chaos

Xander Schauffele, the 2019 Sentry Tournament of Champions winner, returns to the Plantation Course at Kapalua, Hawaii. As a participant in The Sentry 2024 golf tournament from January 4–7, Schauffele joins a lineup of skilled golfers eager to claim victory in this elite event. Notably, last year’s champion, Jon Rahm, is absent, having ventured into LIV Golf.

Schauffele, a strong contender himself, eyes triumph on the challenging course. Amidst discussions about victories and achievements, an intriguing moment unfolded. The American golfer gave a rather peculiar answer when asked about Scottie Scheffler and Jon Rahm’s Player of the Year chaos.

Xander Schauffele’s take on the Player of the Year debate

Scottie Scheffler was once again awarded the title of the PGA Tour’s Player of the Year. The 27-year-old won the title twice consecutively, a feat that was last achieved by the legendary Tiger Woods. But his win was marred by the various views and opinions. With The Sentry kicking off, many saw the perfect opportunity to ask the golfers about their stance on the matter.

During the press conference at Kapalua, Schauffele encountered technical issues with microphones, adding a humorous touch to the conversation. When Schauffele was asked about his views on Scottie Scheffler winning the Player of the Year award, the Olympic gold medalist provided his perspective on the subject and stated, “Jon won the Masters and, I have no idea, he won four times? Scottie won twice.”

Schauffele highlighted the subjective nature of opinions and spoke about how different people would assess success and performance in golf through different factors like consistency, wins, and low-scoring averages. The seven-time PGA Tour winner highlighted the diversity of opinions within the sport and iterated, “that’s another thing about opinions. I think some people look at wins, some people look at majors, some people look at scoring average.”

These factors don’t seem to affect the 30-year-old golfer in the least, as he openly stated, “I, honestly, couldn’t care less.” His indifference to these distinctions underscored the subjective nature of evaluating a successful year in golf, or is there another reason behind the golfer’s disinterest?

Xander Schauffele ever won a Player of the Year award?

In 2017, American golfer Schauffele surged to 32nd place in the Official World Golf Ranking, a notable improvement from his 2016 year-end position of 299. Recognizing his exceptional skills, Schauffele honored him with the “Rookie of the Year 2017” title. 

The American golfer is yet to bag the title of “Player of the Year.” With his recent comments regarding his career, it appears that the Player of the Year trophy will not be adorning his trophy cabinet anytime soon. Currently positioned at 42nd in the Official World Golf Rankings, Schauffele openly expressed his need for a break from golf, leading him to withdraw from Tiger Woods’ Hero World Challenge event in the Bahamas.

Read more: The Sentry 2024: What’s in Collin Morikawa’s Bag?

The Seven-time PGA Tour winner might have been a bit warm towards the news of Scottie Scheffler’s Player of the Year win if he had been a holder of the title himself. What do you think about Schauffele’s “cold shoulder”? Let us know in the comments below. 

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