“And so to miss Torrey twice really, really sucked,” Xander Schauffele said, reflecting on the rib injury that had kept him out of golf for eight weeks. Schauffele had first felt the pain in his ribs just before Christmas, but he had pressed on with his preparations for the season’s first event in Hawaii, despite his trainer being away renewing his visa. However, the pain persisted, and Schauffele was eventually diagnosed with an intercostal strain and a small tear in the cartilage. He had tried to return to competition for the West Coast swing, but the pain had worsened, and he was forced to take a break, ultimately missing out on the opportunity to play Torrey Pines South twice, which was a particularly tough pill to swallow. Schauffele had since recovered and returned to competition at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

During his recovery, Schauffele’s coach, Chris Como, shared his insights on the latest episode of The Smyliee Show about managing the golfer’s expectations during his recent slump. Como says it’s not about toning down Schauffele’s competitive drive, but rather about strategy. Schauffele is a warrior who will fight for every shot, even if it means playing through pain. “You’re constantly punched to the face, you just kind of deal with the fact that you’re the game will always whoop your ass, so it’s like whatever, right?”, he said. Como loves this aspect of Schauffele’s personality and wouldn’t try to change it.

Instead, Como advised Schauffele to focus on the present moment and not rush back to competition too soon, which could exacerbate his injury and disrupt his performance in important upcoming tournaments. “Dude, don’t come back too soon. If you do, now all of a sudden, you flare it up, you run the risk of disrupting a stretch of tournaments that are very important to you.” Como emphasized the importance of staying present and focused on the current moment, rather than dwelling on past successes or failures.

Como also noted that bringing in external expectations or distractions can hinder performance and take away from the fun of the game. “You start bringing in other things, it distracts you from like that sort of like in-the-moment what you can do, so I think in that sense, yeah, it’s just like don’t, but he’s great at that, he just wakes up each day, it’s like this is what I can do to get better at the game.”

With the Masters Tournament just around the corner, Schauffele is gearing up for a strong performance, and Como is certainly confident in his ability to succeed.

What gives Xander Schauffele an edge over other players at the Masters?

As the Masters approaches, golf enthusiasts are placing their bets on top players like Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, and Ludvig Aberg. However, Xander Schauffele is quietly making a strong case for himself, despite a slow start to the 2025 PGA Tour season. Schauffele’s stellar 2024 season, which included 15 top-10s and two major championship victories, was cut short by a sudden rib injury that benched him for 55 days. But the World No. 3 is back on track now, and his recent performance at the Valspar Championship is speaking for him. Schauffele finished T12, a significant improvement from his T72 position at The Players Championship.

So, what gives Schauffele an edge over other players at the Masters? According to PGA Tour writer Paul Hodowanic, Schauffele gained an impressive 11.276 strokes on approach at the Valspar Championship, the highest total he has ever had in his PGA TOUR career. This achievement helped put Schauffele in the elite list of players who have made 60 straight cuts on the PGA Tour. With Augusta National being one of the more challenging tracks every year, Schauffele’s ability to gain strokes on approach could be a key factor in his success at the Masters. As Schauffele himself said, “I think the Masters is demanding, Augusta National is demanding, and you imagine you would like to; you would rather play good golf going in there than not.” What do you think about Schauffele’s chances of winning the major? Let us know in the comment section below!