Xander Schauffele

Xander Schauffele, born Alexander Victor Schauffele on October 25, 1993, in San Diego, California, is an American professional golfer on the PGA Tour. He claimed the Tour Championship in 2017 and took home the gold medal in the men’s individual golf event at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. In 2024, he captured two major titles—the PGA Championship and the Open Championship—and also competed in the 2024 Summer Olympics.

His mother, Chen Ping-Yi, was born in Taiwan and raised in Japan before moving to the United States. His father, Stefan Schauffele, was born in Stuttgart to a French-Austrian mother and a German father. Stefan was a promising decathlete until a drunk driver ended his career at age 20. While recovering, he took up golf, later moving to the U.S. to work at a San Diego golf academy and as an assistant pro in Hawaii. Xander’s parents met in 1988 at San Diego’s United States International University, married three months later, and moved to Germany, where Xander’s older brother Nico was born, before returning to San Diego.

Stefan introduced Xander to golf at age nine, and they joined Bernardo Heights Country Club. Stefan served as Xander’s only swing coach until Xander turned 30, relying on basic ball flight laws and club mechanics; Xander didn’t see his own swing until about age 18. In November 2023, Xander began working with Chris Como, who previously coached Tiger Woods and Bryson DeChambeau.

Two of Xander’s great-grandfathers played soccer in Europe. Johann Hoffmann played for the Austria national team and won multiple Austrian, Bohemian, and French titles. Richard Schauffele played for VfB Stuttgart before excelling in track and field, earning over 40 titles in discus, javelin, and shot put. Xander played soccer as a youth but switched to golf after his coach refused to move him from defensive to offensive midfielder.

In high school, Schauffele won the 2011 California State High School Championship (CIF) for Scripps Ranch High School. He played his freshman year at California State University Long Beach, earning 2012 Big West Conference Freshman of the Year and First Team All-Big West honors. He then transferred to San Diego State University (SDSU), where he finished his college career and graduated in 2015. At SDSU, he was a Ping and Golfweek Third Team All-American, twice earned the Mountain West Conference All-Academic Team Award, and holds records for lowest tournament score against par (−17), career scoring average (71.50), and seasonal marks for par-5 performance (4.5135), birdies (171), and eagles (9).

He beat Beau Hossler for the 2014 California State Amateur Championship at La Costa Resort and Spa, then lost to Hossler in the final of the 2014 Western Amateur at Beverly Country Club. Over 50 college tournaments, he notched 27 top-10s, 19 top-fives, four runners-up, and three wins, ranking in the top 10 of the World Amateur Golf Ranking when he turned pro in 2015.

Turning professional in June 2015, Schauffele entered the Web.com Tour Qualifying Tournament that fall. He finished runner-up in the first stage at Southern Dunes GC in Maricopa, Arizona, won the second stage at Oak Valley GC in Beaumont, California, and narrowly earned his Web.com Tour card with a tie for 45th in the Florida finals. In 2016, he played 23 Web.com Tour events, finishing 26th on the regular-season money list—missing a PGA Tour card by less than $1,000—but secured one through the Web.com Tour Finals by placing 15th on the Finals money list.

Schauffele debuted on the PGA Tour at the CareerBuilder Challenge in La Quinta, California. At the 2017 U.S. Open at Erin Hills, he shot a bogey-free 6-under 66, the first player to card a bogey-free round of 66 or better in a U.S. Open debut, and became one of only 15 to reach 10 under par at that major, finishing tied for fifth. Three weeks later, he won his first PGA Tour event at the Greenbrier Classic, earning exemptions into the Open Championship, PGA Championship, and 2018 Masters.

He entered the Tour Championship ranked 33rd in the FedEx Cup standings, moved to 26th, and birdied the 72nd hole to win by one stroke over Justin Thomas, becoming the first rookie to win the Tour Championship and any FedEx Cup playoff event. That win lifted him to third in the final FedEx Cup standings—four spots better than Jordan Spieth’s previous rookie best—and gave him a three-year PGA Tour exemption through the 2019–20 season.