Xander Schauffele on being 'hard' on himself to regain form following major rib injury

PGA Tour star Xander Schauffele suffered a rib injury that kept him out of the game for about eight weeks. In a press conference ahead of the Valspar Championship, he opened up about his recovery and the impact the intercoastal strain had on his game.

Schauffele plays on the PGA Tour and has won nine events on the circuit. He has also won two Major Championships, including the 2024 PGA Championship and the 2024 Open Championship. He came second in the 2019 Masters Tournament and third in the U.S. Open that same year.

The 31-year-old golfer is gearing up to tee off at Copperhead Course on March 20. Ahead of the tournament, he revealed that this was his first time dealing with a rib injury of that nature and he may have been harsh on himself to play better.

“I mean, this is my first sort of injury I’ve ever dealt with. You know, everyone that I’ve talked to that was hurt sort of says, you know, ease your way back in, you can hurt yourself again, those kind of things. So, everyone’s telling me to be patient but I think in assessment, you can be as hard as you want,” Xander Schauffele said. (Via Golf.com)

“When I’m playing out there, yeah, my expectations aren’t through the roof I don’t think. I’m pretty happy with a drive that’s in the fairway right now. And I’m pretty happy when I hit a good cut or a good draw. But when you’re assessing yourself, I think it’s important if you want to elevate your game, to be harsh. It’s easy to be biased and think you’re doing okay so yeah that’s kind of what seems to be a harsh assessment came from,” he concluded.

Xander Schauffele also spoke to the media ahead of the 2025 Arnold Palmer Invitational, where he shared that it “sucked” to miss out on so many events due to his injury.

“I was sitting at home on the West Coast, that sucked for me. One of my dreams is to play Torrey South earlier in the year with long rough, cold, South only. And so to miss Torrey twice really, really sucked,” Scahuffele said. (Via Golf.com)

The San Dieg-born said that he has been putting in a lot of practice to get back into his game. He will compete in the 2025 Valspar Championship against stars such as Thomas Detry and Gary Woodland.

How many PGA Tour events has Xander Schauffele competed in this year?

Xander Schauffele has played in three PGA Tour events this year. His first start was in The Sentry at Kapalua Resort, where he finished with 17-under at T30. He won $137,500 for his performance, the highest he has earned this year.

After The Sentry, the American pro golfer took a break to completely heal from his injuries. Then, he competed in the Arnold Palmer Invitational at the Bay Hill Golf Course, finishing the tournament with four-over at T40. Russell Henley won the tournament with a total of 11-under.

After the Arnold Palmer Invitational, Schauffele competed in the famed Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass. He recorded his poorest result of the year at The Players, finishing in 72nd position with 13-over.