Christmas time has been injurious to golfers. Last December, Scottie Scheffler faced a cooking accident, which has pulled a mention at this year’s Masters dinner menu. Then, Xander Schauffele had started feeling bodily difficulties. But in the absence of his coach, the golfer continued working out. The consequence? He received a diagnosis of an intercostal strain—a small tear in the rib cartilage. While the golfer made a joke about the situation by saying, “Apparently, I am still a toddler,” this rib injury translated into a less-than-stellar performance in the following season. Even if Schauffele doesn’t talk much about it, the weight of bad form weighs heavy on him. How?

Just a few days ago, Schauffele sat down for a press conference after missing The PLAYERS Championship cut. Talking about his consequently falling performance, the golfer said he is “pretty grossed out” by his games. Take for instance his stunning performance last year where he bagged two major wins with the PGA Championship and The Open. Compare it to 2025 and it’s not the best.

Fast forward to the upcoming Valspar Championship, the questions touched on his performance and injury. So, does the golfer think the injury itself was harder to come back from more than he thought? Xander Schauffele‘s answer? He isn’t really sure. “That’s why I thought — that’s why I said it’s harder than I thought. I didn’t think it was going to be this tricky. Maybe I’m being a little impatient, it’s been two weeks of tournament golf for me, coming off of pretty much zero golf.” This statement has everything to do with his performance.

Back in 2024, besides the two major wins we already mentioned, he had 14 top-10 finishes, including a T9 finish at the Olympic Men’s Golf Competition. This year hasn’t even mirrored a bit of that performance, with his peak coming with The Sentry at T30. But he is injured and recovery takes time. Isn’t he being hard on himself? Continuing on the same line as he did at TPC Sawgrass, the golfer says, “Maybe.”

“I mean, maybe. Maybe, for sure. This is my first sort of injury I’ve ever dealt with. Everyone that I’ve talked to that was hurt sort of says ease your way back in, you can hurt yourself again.” It is a good advice. Consider Will Zalatoris’s situation back in 2023. The golfer attempted to play through his already-injured back, resulting in surgery and a 7 months absence from the greens. But it’s not all gloom in the Xander Schauffele fandom. And we will tell you why.

Xander Schauffele is doing just fine in the 2025 season

Early this month, the golfer sat down for a discussion and said he’s working hard. “I’ve been practicing mentally to convince myself that I’m still in some crazy good form.” Despite this setback, Schauffele has good things to look forward to. First thing first, the golfer will have an appearance in the upcoming Happy Gilmore 2 film!

Let’s take a look at one promising thing for the golfer. All this time, pushing through a rib injury, Xander Schauffele has been building an incredible streak, one that puts him shoulder-to-shoulder with legendary golfers like Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, and Bryon Nelson. His 59 consecutive made cuts are now the longest active streak on the PGA Tour and, overall, the sixth longest in the sport’s history! Who is on top? It’s Tiger Woods, with his untouchable 142 straight cuts from 1998 to 2005. What else?

With that, the World No. 3 golfer has also signed a multi-year partnership ambassador deal with Asset Manager Blue Owl Capital. As part of the partnership, Schauffele will wear the Blue Owl logo throughout all PGA Tour and major tournaments, and will be a part of occasional client engagement initiatives.

Then, Schauffele has joined Scottie Scheffler, Wyndham Clark, and Collin Morikawa for the Travelers Championship. While we are yet to see his return to his peak form, the fans have still pinned their hopes on him. What do you think about this Xander Schauffele situation? Will he continue with his bad form or make a solid return at the Valspar Championship?