Hopeful Xander Schauffele’s Future Still Threatened by Performance Demons at 2024 Wells Fargo Championship

Xander Schauffele is well in sight for a victory. A total of 11 birdies over the two days and an eagle on the par-5, 7th on Thursday have helped him dominate the leaderboard at the Quail Hollow Club and stay hopeful of a win. However, if the past has taught us anything, it’s to not become lax before the final second of the event, especially when it comes to the 30-year-old’s case.

Although the golfer has been having a good run on the men’s circuit in 2024, he hasn’t managed to rake in any wins during that time. Similarly, if the worst-case scenario were to happen once again, Schauffele may find himself losing his chance at claiming his 8th win on the Jay Monahan-led Tour, thereby being unable to break the curse.

Xander Schauffele and his never-ending misfortune

Out of the 10 starts he made in the 2024 calendar, Schauffele has finished a total of seven times inside the top 10, with his best coming off the PLAYERS Championship, where he finished T2. Even out of the other top placements, the golfer was seemingly leading the scorecard for a couple of them before succumbing to another PGA Tour pro.

At the PLAYERS, he was interestingly placed at T1 for the first three days with figures of 65-69-65. But a determined Scottie Scheffler, while sporting a back injury, shot past him while clinching the win, leaving him a stroke behind at T2. That’s not all. During the Genesis Invitational that took place at Riviera, Xander Schauffele was tailing Patrick Cantlay at T2 with eyes set on the trophy at 12-under entering Sunday. However, the final round witnessed him scoring just 70 (-1), leading to him finishing T4 tied with Cantlay and Adam Hadwin.

The 2024 American Express was no different. He was well placed for contention at T5 with a score of 20-under after Saturday’s round but fell short at the last moment. Consequently, he placed T3 with figures 27-under 261, failing to overcome Nick Dunlap, the amateur who won the same with figures 29-under 259.

But, even as the constant disappointments plagued the golfer, starting from the Sentry, where he finished T10, it’s not as if only bad news awaited during the same. Despite the disheartening loss Schauffele experienced at the American Express, he was able to make history with the winnings he received from the tournament.

Schauffele marks his name in the annals of golf history

The T3 finish he carded at the La Quinta Country Club offered him a payout of $635,600, owing to Dunlap being an amateur. This, in turn, helped him cross the $40 million mark in career earnings on the PGA Tour, making him the 31st athlete on the men’s circuit to do so.

Moreover, he was able to make the cut in all the tournaments that followed, even finishing five times inside the top 10 at the Farmers Insurance Open, the Genesis Invitational, the PLAYERS Championship, the Valspar Championship, and the Masters Tournament. As a result, Schauffele was able to push his earnings to a total of $44,438,394, thereby occupying 25th place in the all-time career list.

Well, with the $3,600,000 the athlete would receive if he won the Wells Fargo Championship, he would be able to reach the 21st position, just behind Bubba Watson. Surely, his fans would be waiting for him to break the curse and do the honors!