Some records shape the very legacy of the sport you take part in. Jack Nicklaus‘s record of 18 major victories is one such achievement. The moment the record breaks, it shows a tectonic shift in our understanding of the sport of golf. There is another record of a similar stature. Tiger Woods‘s record between February 1998 and May 2005 of making the cut at every event he has participated in. And now, world number 3 Xander Schauffele is in the middle of a race.

Unfortunately, it is one against time and also against the great Tiger Woods. Schauffele holds the current active streak on the PGA Tour of making a cut. He’s presently at 58, having barely qualified at Bay Hill. He is still very far from Tiger Woods’s number of 142.

“I mean, it’s definitely- it’s a cool thing. I try really hard to not quit. Even today going double, double sitting in a really nice spot, it was an easy time to get frustrated. But I said earlier in the week I’m going to have to go to a special place to play decent golf, and I had to dig deep,” the two-time major winner spoke to the media about keeping the streak alive after making the cut at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

In his first-ever tournament back from injury, the current streak looked threatened. Day 1, he was at 5 over par, and it was not looking good for the nine-time PGA Tour winner.

The next round, he was at 3 under for the day at the start of the 11 hole. Later, he had two consecutive double bogeys, pushing him to 1 over par for the day and 6 over par for the tournament.

However, 3 birdies late in the round turned the game for him as he made the 4 above par cut line with the barest of margins. “So it was good practice on that front. Austin and I are proud of our cut streak, no doubt. Is it what we think about? No. But usually when you focus on winning, you make a lot of cuts and end up somewhere in between.”

The 31-year-old last missed a cut at the 2022 Masters Tournament. The streak was something Schauffele built over more than two years. His caddie, Austin Kaiser, had quipped that it would take another four years before Schauffele can break Woods’s nearly unbreakable record. This was the event where the streak felt threatened, as Schauffele was coming from a two-month layoff because of an injury.

Xander Schauffele feels much better physically

Schauffele had missed time on the PGA Tour after suffering an intercostal strain with a small tear in the cartilage in his rib. It was something he had felt since late last year. But despite the pain while swinging the club, he continued playing. He played the season opener, the Sentry, as well as the first match for his team, the New York Golf Club, in the TGL.

The former World No. 2 missed an extended period but returned for the final match of TGL with his team. The Arnold Palmer Invitational was his return to pure competitive golf. So, he had to shake off some of the rust. Schauffele had a simple goal before the tournament: play all four rounds of golf at Bay Hill. He did achieve that while keeping his streak alive.

“Yeah, yeah, I feel good. Yeah, physically great. Mentally, you know, okay. So working on it. My goal was just make it to the weekend, just so I can have two more rounds of golf. I just need as much golf as possible,” he said.

There is a big mountain in front of Schauffele, and he has a very steep climb ahead of him. He is still yet to reach the halfway point in his quest to achieve Tiger Woods’s magic number of 142 and would likely have to play with extreme focus on the course every time he steps foot on it.

“The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step!”

Do you think Tiger Woods’s record of 142 straight games making the cut stands in time? Or do you think Xander Schauffele or someone else will challenge and break the nearly unbreakable record?