PGA Tour Injury Update: Xander Schauffele’s WM Phoenix Open Withdrawal Is Not LIV Golf’s Doing

Turns out, there was no drama in Xander Schauffele withdrawing from the WM Phoenix Open. The seven-time PGA Tour winner was reportedly not feeling confident in his body. Reports suggest he might have been playing with a slight wrist discomfort at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am as well. 

Schauffele has played in the People’s Open six times, with four top-10 finishes to his name. The World No. 5 has already raked in three top-10 finishes from his four outings this season. Inevitably, his withdrawal sparked speculation that he might dramatically bolt to LIV Golf, despite the PIF-funded league already kickstarting its third season in Mayakoba. But that doesn’t seem to be the case as new revelations come to light.

Is Xander Schauffele having a serious injury?

Dan Rapaport of Barstool Sports tweeted that Schauffele has pulled out because of a niggling wrist injury. Apparently, the seven-time PGA Tour winner wants to rest his body before the next Signature event. Rapaport wrote on X (formerly Twitter), “Xander Schauffele withdrew from the WM Phoenix Open to give his wrist a little break before Riviera.”

The PGA Tour will leave for Riviera for the Tiger Woods-hosted Genesis Invitational after the WM Phoenix Open. Riviera has been elevated to a Signature event with a $20M purse that will draw in the crème de la crème of the Tour. Schauffele’s strategy of taking a rest before the grand showdown is understandable. Viktor Hovland has also bowed out from the People’s Open for apparently the same reason. 

Nevertheless, it was rather surprising, because Schauffele showed no signs of injury at his last outing in Pebble Beach, where he carded 4-under 212 to finish at T54. Pointing to that, Xander Schauffele Legion, a fan community of the World No.5, tweeted, “Did not hear of a wrist issue at all at Pebble but who knows.”

But he is still planning a trip to Los Angeles, which means it might not be a huge blowback. “Probably not something to worry about considering he’s still playing Riviera,” added the fan community. 

Wrist injury typically takes one to eight weeks depending on the severity of it. If the report proves to be true – there has not been any official confirmation – it won’t be the first time that Schauffele would withdraw from a tournament because of an injury.

Schauffele played with pain last year

Schaufflee had to back out of last year’s Tournament of Champions (renamed as the Sentry), due to back pain. The seven-time PGA Tour winner was struggling even before teeing up at Kapalua Plantation Course last year. Playing with pain only made it worse forcing the 2019 champion to call it quits after the ninth hole in the second round.

Read More: ‘Got in My Head’: Xander Schauffele Makes a Hurtful Confession After Failing Yet Again

Likely, World No. 5 didn’t want to take the risk of playing through the pain this time. His withdrawal, however, kickstarted the usual LIV Golf chatter. Notably, there have been no reports of him joining the breakaway league. Rather, Xander Schauffele

admitted that he had no intention of leaving the PGA Tour in a recent conversation with Dan Rapaport himself.

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