Xander Schauffele skyrockets up the leaderboard after "Decent Job" in second round of Valspar Championship

Xander Schauffele skyrocketed up the leaderboard during Round 2 of the ongoing Valspar Championship on Friday. He is currently in a tie for 5th position with a total score of 4-under.

Schauffele recorded four birdies and two bogeys to finish his second round at 68. The performance helped him achieve a good ranking on Friday.

After his round, during the press conference, he was asked whether he was happy with his performance. Schauffele shared his belief that he and his caddy Austin Kaiser did a "decent job".

"Yeah, it's a process. I'm aware of that. I feel like Austin and I did a decent job just trying to plot along a golf course. This is one of those places where it can get away from you quick or you can kind of hang in there and your name will be up there on Sunday late in the day. So I'm just trying to play golf." he said via ASAP Text.

Schauffele had stayed out of competition post the season-opening Sentry in Hawaii due to a rib injury. He made his return at the Arnold Palmer Invitational earlier this month where he placed T40. The US golfer was last seen at the Players Championship last week where he was ranked 72nd.

After a spectacular 2024 season, the World No. 3 is yet to put up an exceptional performance in his minimal competitive performances so far this year. However, he appears to be in a pretty solid form this week at the Valspar Championship.

So far, Jacob Bridgeman is leading the standings at Innsbrook.

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"It's all part of coming back and trying to play at a high level" - Xander Schauffele

Xander Schauffele at the Valspar Championship - Second Round (Source: Imagn)

Before making his comeback from a rib injury this year, Xander Schauffele had mentioned that he wanted to prepare well before the Masters. The tournament will take place from April 10 to 13, 2025. He had told Golfweek at the time:

"I want to get as many reps under the belt before the Masters. It would be nice to get the competitive blood flowing a few times before going into a really big event and also have the Players coming up."

Schauffele has only played in two events since his return to competition. The ongoing Valspar Championship is his third competitive appearance post-injury. The Masters, less than a month away, will begin the Major season.

After his second round at the Valspar Championship, Schauffele was asked how he was feeling with his performance so far. Calling it a "pretty good start", he mentioned that it was all a part of coming back and "trying to play" at an elite level.

"Yeah, pretty good start. In touch. I think the leaders are at 7 or 8, maybe. So the goal was just to be in touch going into the weekend, to get some of those feelings again. And, you know, as soon as I feel a little bit of pressure in my game the swing's a little bit kind of dodgy at times. So it's all part of coming back and trying to play at a high level." he said via ASAP Text.

Notably, Xander Schauffele still has two more rounds to play at the Copperhead Course.