World No. 2 Xander Schauffele did not have the best start to the 2025 season. Schauffele played at the Sentry to kick off the season but finished in 30th as he looked a long way off the form he showed to win two majors in 2024. That was followed by withdrawal from a number of events.

Schauffele withdrew from American Express, ultimately won by Sepp Straka, but no reason was offered by the PGA Tour following the announcement. It was then reported that the two-time Major winner would also be unavailable for New York GC’s second TGL match on Tuesday, January 21 due to a medical reason – however, no further details were shared. Days later, in the build-up to the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines, marking Schauffele’s hometown event, Golf Channel’s Todd Lewis shared a message on X to clarify a little more about what the San Diego-born golfer has been dealing with.

“World #2 @XSchauffele has been bothered with a right rib injury since late last year. It is not skeletal but instead soft tissue. Played through issue at @TheSentry but resting now and not making any full swings. Not playing hometown event this week. Uncertain about @attproam,” Lewis wrote. This was the first time since 2015 that he has failed to play the Farmers Insurance Open, with a best result of T2nd back in 2021. Late last month, it was reported that Schauffele has been cleared to practice again. But it was too soon for the 31-year-old to be in the field for the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. However, Lewis had suggested that Schauffele was targeting The Genesis Invitational.

“The doctors this week have given him the okay. He is going to hit some full shots, get geared up, try to get tour ready once again. There’s a minor chance, and I mean very minor, that he could play next week at the WM Phoenix Open, but right now, he is targeting coming back for the Genesis, which is now going to be in his hometown of San Diego at Torrey Pines. He’s never won there, he would love to win that event. But right now, he is targeting that event,” Lewis had reported late last month. But looks like that possibility is also in tatters right now.

Per the latest tweet from Johnston Garrett, it looks like Xander Schauffele’s return to golf will have to wait a bit longer. Despite initial reports suggesting he might make a comeback at The Genesis Invitational, Schauffele has now been ruled out of the entire tournament due to his lingering rib injury. “Spoke w/Xander Schauffele’s team and he will NOT play next week at @thegenesisinv. ‘Does not look that way (for him to play) unfortunately. (Injury) needs a bit more time.’,” Garrett wrote. The X handle Xander Schauffele Legion further predicted, “He’ll take more time to get healthy and will likely return for the Florida swing.”

Schauffele himself has talked about the declining form that led to his recent absence from PGA Tour events, suggesting that he probably shouldn’t have pushed himself to play at The Sentry while nursing an acute intercostal strain and micro tear in his rib cage. “The Sentry was tough. In honesty, I probably shouldn’t have played Sentry. I was trying my hardest for me to sort of come into the new year, semi-hurt, get worse, and now I’m sidelined. Just trying to learn from this really and come back at 100%,” Schauffele said, per The Golfing Gazette. So how does he keep his game ahead of others?

Xander Schauffele has clear goals to elevate his play

Schauffele enjoyed a phenomenal 2024 season, with his efforts falling just short of Scottie Scheffler. The American took his career PGA Tour titles tally to nine with two wins in 2024, which just happened to come at the PGA Championship and The Open Championship. Scheffler won PGA Tour Player of the Year, but Schauffele really wasn’t far behind his compatriot in terms of his achievements this season.

Interestingly, Schauffele doesn’t think he’s entered his prime, which is perhaps a reason to worry for his rivals on the course. However, like all the very best, Xander Schauffele grinds hard to find those small percentages that make the difference. Schauffele himself has revealed some of his range secrets, and for him, it’s not just about swinging golf clubs aimlessly.

“I rarely go to the range just to swing a club,” he said. “I’m definitely working on something. I’d say general warm up you always start with low clubs, kind of get in the swing of things. Kind of turn it both ways a little bit. A little left-to-right, a little right-to-left, and then you can slowly advance through the bag.”

“Be on a range that’s not too hard to sort of put the blinders on and really try to replicate the feeling you have now when you’re in a tournament. Obviously you’re going to be a little bit more amped up and high-strung,” Schauffele further added. While Scauffele might be out for now, after the stellar 2024 season, he must have set the bar very high for 2025, although plenty of motivation should come from wanting to topple Scheffler. Indeed, fans have their fingers crossed.