One of the best golfers of today’s era, Xander Schauffele turned 31 on October 25th, 2024. Throughout his three-decade-long life, Schauffele has made many memories and set several records.

On this auspicious day, let’s explore some of the hidden and intriguing facts about the 9-time PGA Tour winner about how he became one of the top-ranked golfers in the 2024 season, and who his best friend on the PGA Tour is!

1. Xander Schauffele’s father and his Olympic connection

Xander Schauffele’s father, Stefan Schauffele was a decathlete representing Germany. However, his dream to win or play in the Olympics was shattered as he was hit by a drunk driver in 1986 and sustained many injuries, even losing sight in his left eye. Thus, Xander winning at the 2020 [2021] Tokyo Olympics was more special. Yes, the gold medal was the reward for all his hard work but his father’s dream was finally fulfilled.

2. He almost clinched the biggest comeback in PGA Tour history

At the FedEx St. Jude Championship, Schauffele turned around his entire game. From trailing behind the leader, deficit of nine strokes, he came closer to winning the event with only a two-stroke difference, courtesy of his bogey-free round 7 under 63 final round. The biggest comeback recorded in history was set by Paul Lawrie at the 1999 Open (10 strokes). But for Schauffele it was incomplete as he didn’t win the event.

3. Becoming Patrick Cantlay’s best friend along the way

Along the way, Xander Schauffele might have made many friends but Patrick Cantlay is surely his best mate on the PGA Tour. The two became close after being paired by Fred Couples at the 2019 Presidents Cup at Royal Melbourne and have been best buds since then. Even their wives, Maya Schauffele and Nikku Guidish often spend time together and Schauffele was the best man at Cantlay’s wedding. The duo is the go-to pairing for the Presidents or Ryder Cup and also won the 2022 Zurich Classic together.

4. Getting ranked inside the top 5 

Before 2024, Schauffele was already a 7-time PGA Tour winner. However, he was never ranked inside the top 5 on the Official World Golf Rankings in the year-end. But in 2024, he started as the 5th rank because of his various top finishes, and then a T8 at the Masters catapulted him to 3rd in the world for the first time, while winning the PGA Championship at Valhalla earned him the world no. 2 title.

5. Becoming a 2-time major champion

Well, there was a questionable tag along with Schauffele, the best of golfers but without any major wins. However, he came clear of that after winning two majors in two months, the PGA Championship and The Open. He became only the sixth golfer to win two majors in a year and the first one since Brooks Koepka’s 2018 U.S. Open and PGA Championship wins.

6. Xander Schuaffele’s first dream sport was soccer

Surprisingly, Schauffele did not want to be a golfer as a child. As a 6-year-old, he could volley the ball pretty well and always played with his club as a defensive sweeper. But he always wanted to play in the offensive position. However, Schauffele didn’t like losing much and he left the sport at the age of 12. The next day, his father started to get him ready for the PGA Tour.

7. The PGA Tour star found his caddie in college

Schauffele always holds his relationships close to his heart and the one with his caddie, Austin Kaiser, is the proof of it. The two have been together since day one (2007) when Schauffele started his pro career. Kaiser and Schauffele were college teammates at San Diego State. While Kaiser was preparing to become an officer, the 2-time major winner offered him the looper role and the two have not looked back since then.

8. Probably the only PGA Tour pro with four citizenships

Schauffele’s nationalities are wilder than any other golfer on the PGA Tour. He is Taiwanese from his mother, Chen Ping Yi’s side, half German, and half French from his father’s side. And an American, as he was born in San Diego in 1993.

9. His ultimate love for cigars

Schauffele’s father introduced him to cigars when he was only 10. To date, he has been an avid cigar smoker and celebrated his two major victories by smoking a cigar as well. The 31-year-old’s favorite one is the Montecristo No. 2 and he was also featured on the Cigar Aficionado because of his love for the cigar.

10. He lost the PGA Tour card by $1,000

Even before making his PGA Tour debut in 2017, Schauffele’s dream was shattered because of $1,000. After playing a full season on the Web.com Tour (Now Korn Ferry Tour), Schauffele finished 26th on the ranking and was only $1000 bucks away from getting the 2017 card. However, he turned the script after winning it through the KFT Finals.

There are more years to go in Xander Schauffele’s pro career and along the way, he will probably create more facts and experiences for people to always remember.