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Xander Schauffele is currently at the Bay Hill Golf Course to play The Arnold Palmer Invitational – presented by Mastercard. The tournament is teeing off today, and Schauffele, currently ranked No. 3 in the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR), gave his thoughts on overtaking the current World No. 1, Scottie Scheffler.
During a pre-tournament press conference, Schauffele shared his views on several topics. When asked about Scottie Scheffler holding the No. 1 rank for over 90 consecutive weeks, and whether he thinks about challenging for that top spot, Xander Schauffele responded (via ASAP Sports):
"Yeah, I mean, it's in there somewhere. It's written down and it's definitely not hard to have it as a goal. I think when you don't do something, it's pretty easy to leave it on a sheet. It's just sort of how long do you want to stare at it for. Right now, yeah, little wins are big for me right now. Whether it's getting through 18 holes, or 36 holes, clean, and feeling great, and getting a training session in, that's kind of what I'm looking for.”
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Last year at the 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational, he tied for 25th place alongside Patrick Rodgers, Erik van Rooyen, Grayson Murray, and Ludvig Åberg.
This year, Xander Shauffele has been paired with Justin Thomas at the event, and will tee off at 9:55 am ET on the first tee.
Xander Schauffele is making a comeback after suffering a rib injury
Xander Schauffele has been dealing with a rib injury and has been undergoing rehabilitation for the past several months. His last PGA Tour event before injury was the Zozo Championship in October 2024, where he tied for 21st place.
In 2025, Schauffele has played only one tournament so far—The Sentry in January—where he finished tied for 30th.
Now, Xander Schauffele is making a comeback at The Arnold Palmer Invitational after almost eight weeks away from competitive golf. He admitted that returning at Bay Hill is not easy, as he has just recovered from his rib injury. Speaking to Golf Digest, he shared his experience of practicing at the course:
"One of my first things I did yesterday when I played, teed off on 10 and hit the fairway, and then first thing I did was throw a ball in the rough and take a swipe at it. I was telling Austin [Kaiser, his caddie], ‘If this doesn't go well, then I'm going to get in my car and drive back to Jupiter.’"
Before his injury, Schauffele had a memorable 2024 season. He won two major championships—the Open Championship and the PGA Championship.
In total, Xander Schauffele participated in 22 PGA Tour events last year, making the cut in all of them. He finished as a runner-up thrice and secured a top-10 finish in 15 events, and also earned $18,385,320 in prize money.
