Xander Schauffele is one of the dominant forces in men's professional golf and is now among the list of Major champions following a remarkable run in 2024. Discover more about his life and career via these 20 facts.
Xander Schauffele Facts
1. His full name is Alexander Victor Schauffele.
2. He was born and raised in San Diego, California.
3. Schauffele boasts four legal nationalities. He has German and French from his father's side, Taiwanese from his mother's, and American from both sides as well.
4. His father Stefan was an Olympic hopeful for Germany in the decathlon before a head-on car accident with a drunk driver ended his chances.
5. Schauffele originally went to Long Beach State University before transferring during his sophomore year to San Diego State University. He graduated with a degree in Social Sciences in 2015.
6. Schauffele's wife is Maya Lowe. She is a University of California graduate and they have been together since 2014.
7. In 2016, he played a full season on the Web.com Tour and missed out on securing his PGA Tour card by less than $1,000. He earned his full card at the Web.com Tour Finals later that year.
8. His best world ranking is 2nd, which he reached after his 2024 PGA Championship win at Valhalla.
9. He became the first rookie ever to win the PGA Tour's Tour Championship in 2017. Along with his victory at the 2017 Greenbrier Classic, Schauffele won the 2016-17 Rookie of the Year award as a result of his sublime play.
10. His best Majors finishes before winning the 2024 PGA Championship came at the 2018 Open Championship at Carnoustie. Going into the final round tied for the lead, Schauffele shot 74 to finish two back of Francesco Molinari in a tie for second place. He was also T2nd at the 2019 Masters.
11. He won the Olympic gold medal at Tokyo 2020, finishing one clear of Slovakia's Rory Sabbatini.
12. He made his Ryder Cup debut for Team USA in 2021 at Whistling Straits after being named as one of Steve Stricker's wildcard picks. He won three points from four matches. He played in his second Ryder Cup in Rome 2023.
13. He signed with Japanese sports brand Descente in 2024.
14. His long-time caddie is Austin Kaiser, whom he played college golf with for the San Diego State Aztecs.
15. He is signed with Callaway Golf and plays a near-full bag of their products including ball.
16. Schauffele is an avid cigar smoker and has been featured in Cigar Aficionado, as has Michael Jordan. Schauffele's father introduced him to cigars at the age of 10, and his favorite cigar is the Montecristo No. 2.
17. As well as seven regular PGA Tour wins, he has a further 14 runner-up finishes.
18. He has earnings of $54.7m on the PGA Tour.
19. He is best friends with Patrick Cantlay, and their wives are also close friends. Xander and Patrick have teamed up at the Ryder Cup, Presidents Cup and Zurich Classic.
20. He averaged 304.1 yards off the tee in the 22/23 PGA Tour season before increasing that to 305.7 in 2024.
