Xander Schauffele gets candid about the ‘Tiger effect’ after a close cut save at The Players 2025

Xander Schauffele said that the environment during the first two rounds of the Players Championship 2025 was still not at the level of Tiger Woods, despite the top three players being grouped together. He referred to it as the 'Tiger effect' and said others couldn't create such an impact on fans.

On Friday, March 14, Xander carded a 1-under 71 to aggregate at 1-under after two rounds. He made the cut at the Players Championship 2025 by just touching the cutline. He played the opening two rounds alongside Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy, making this group one of the most sought-after.

During the post-round interview, Schauffele reflected on the crowd being less noisy despite having three of the most popular names in the group. Speaking on why it was less noisy than what it would have been with Tiger Woods, the two-time major champion said:

"I mean Scottie, Rory and I, we're not going to be throwing our shoulders out fist pumping anything, so I'm sure that would fire a crowd up a little bit more," he said.

In the follow-up question, the reporter pointed out that Xander Schauffele didn't have much to fist-pump throughout the day.

"We didn't have a whole lot to fist pump at, to be completely honest," he added. "So I mean, there's a reason it's called the 'Tiger effect'. I think all the guys in the group typically play pretty good golf, but no one does it better than Tiger."

Earlier, Schauffele narrowly made the cut at TPC Sawgrass and saved his active cut streak. He hasn't missed cut for the 59 consecutive starts which is the longest active streak on the PGA Tour. The last time he missed the cut was Masters Tournament 2022.

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When will Xander Schauffele begin the third round of the Players Championship? Tee times explored

Xander Schauffele is scheduled to tee off from the first hole on Saturday, March 15, at 8:55 a.m. ET alongside Daniel Berger for the third round of the Players Championship 2025.

Schauffele is playing just the third event of the PGA Tour 2025 season. After opening the season at The Sentry, he was away from the action for two months due to a rib cage injury.

The third round will begin at 8:25 a.m. ET, with Shane Lowry and Danny Walker leading the way as the first group of the day. Meanwhile, leaders Min Woo Lee and Akshay Bhatia will start their round at 2:35 p.m. ET.