“I’m a big believer in getting the right foundation, the right people, and the team around you,” said Xander Schauffele in an interview once. And well, why would he not? Like the majority of the world, his close ones are his pillars of support. And that’s not just the love of his life who he married, but also the rest of his family. They’ve stuck with him through thick and thin.

Now, Xander Schauffele began playing golf at a young age, picking up the sport around age 10. He was encouraged by his parents, of course, who were both involved in the sport. But as he developed a passion for the game, he found even more support from home through his grandparents and more. Schauffele credits them as the biggest influences in his life!

Meet Stefan Schauffele and Ping-Yi Chen

Xander Schauffele was born to Stefan Schauffele and Ping-Yi Chen in San Diego. Both of his parents have a rich background in golf. His father was widely renowned for being a swing coach. He was also the only swing coach that the 9X PGA Tour winner has ever had. Apart from being a swing coach, he was also an exceptional golfer. He had dreams of winning a gold medal at the Olympics someday, representing his country. However, in 1998, he met with an accident and lost his left eye, which crushed his dreams of becoming an athlete.

His son fulfilled the dream for him by winning the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. While all the other athletes’ family members were barred from watching them up close at the international event, Stefan Scheffler was the only father who could witness his son making the victory putt, thanks to him being the swing coach.

Xander once also mentioned that he has four legal nationalities because his father is a French-German naturalized immigrant and his mother was born in Taiwan and raised in Japan. This is what draws Schauffele to the Japanese culture all the more. Notably, (and hilariously) he does not call his parents mom and dad but rather ‘Hamster’ and ‘Ogre’.

The American professional’s parents met at a San Diego University event on May 5, 1988. Three months later, they got married in August. After marrying, the couple moved to Germany, where they had their first son, Nico. It was after they moved to San Diego for the second time from Hawaii that Xander was born. “Stefan Schauffele and Ping-Yi Chen crossed each other’s paths one spring day at San Diego’s United States International University (now Alliant) in 1988. She was 20 and didn’t speak English; he was 23 and couldn’t fathom Japanese. They somehow found an instant chemistry,” says the PGA.com about the couple.

Like we mentioned earlier, Xander Schauffele was fortunate enough to have not just one pair supporting him. He had another!

Xander Schauffele’s grandparents: Eisei Chen and Namiko Azuma

Xander Schauffele’s grandparents (from his mum’s side) Eisei Chen and Namiko Azuma live with his uncles near Tokyo. The couple, as you can guess, are quite old now, but even to date they never fail to show up to support Xander Schauffele in his tournaments. Schauffele’s grandparents are also one of the biggest reasons he never fails to tee up at the ZOZO Championship.

Due to their age, Eisei and Namiko can’t travel to America to witness their star grandson on the greens. But when an event is in Japan, like the ZOZO Championship, they and the rest of his family are always visible on the sidelines cheering him on. Their support, moreover, means so much to him that this year, he carried the Claret Jug with him there so that he could celebrate winning his majors with his grandparents. 

The old couple could not be a part of the 2021 Olympic Games to witness their grandson play and win for America. But now he’s making sure to replace memories like those with happy ones like these!

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