Xander Schauffele: Two Majors in 2024, and the Irons Since

Xander Schauffele played eight majors after Royal Troon and did not finish inside the top six in any of them. He is still a very good golfer. He is no longer the golfer who won the PGA Championship and The Open in the same summer, and the numbers say exactly where the difference lives.

Quick Facts

The summer of 2024

Start with how good 2024 was, because everything since gets measured against it.

At Valhalla in May he shot 62 on Thursday, which tied the lowest round ever played in a major. On Sunday he pitched to six feet on the par-5 18th and holed a six-footer that went round the cup before it dropped. That gave him 21 under par, a 263 total, the lowest 72-hole score in major championship history, and a one-shot win over Bryson DeChambeau.

Two months later at Royal Troon he closed with a bogey-free 65, the low round of the day. Nine under, two clear of Justin Rose and Billy Horschel. He called it the best round he had played. He was the first man since Brooks Koepka in 2018 to win two majors in a season.

Those were not hot weeks pasted onto an ordinary year. He finished eighth at the Masters and tied seventh at the U.S. Open, so all four majors went top ten. He had 15 top-10s on the PGA Tour, the second most of anyone, and he gained 1.941 strokes per round on the field. Only Scottie Scheffler was better. Off the tee he ranked 10th, on approach 6th, on the greens 12th. There was no hole in the bag.

2025: the rib, and a year that went sideways

Schauffele hurt his ribs early in 2025, played through it at The Sentry and finished 30th. Then he stepped away for two months to let it heal. The game he came back with was not the one he left with. He finished 72nd at THE PLAYERS.

The majors held up better than the rest. Tied eighth at the Masters, tied 28th at the PGA, tied 12th at the U.S. Open, tied seventh at The Open. Respectable. Never in it on Sunday.

"Mentally a long season for me even though it was short," he said in August. He missed the Tour Championship for the first time, ending an eight-year run, and finished 42nd in the FedExCup. His strokes gained total fell to 0.454 a round, 56th on tour. The driver went from 10th to 91st. The putter went from 12th to 139th, and he changed putters during the playoffs.

Then, in October, he won the Baycurrent Classic at Yokohama Country Club with a closing 64, one ahead of Max Greyserman. Tenth PGA Tour title, first since Troon. It lifted him to third in the world, which flattered the year but did not lie about the talent.

2026: most of it came back

Back to a full schedule, Schauffele had a proper season. He made 18 of 20 cuts and posted seven top-10s: third at THE PLAYERS, tied fourth at the Valspar, second at the Rocket Classic, tied ninth at the Masters, plus tied sevenths at the Genesis Invitational, the PGA Championship and the FedEx St. Jude. He banked $7,988,975, returned to the Tour Championship, and finished tied 14th in the FedExCup.

The driving is all the way back. His strokes gained off the tee was 0.557 a round in 2026. In 2024 it was 0.557 a round. You will not find a cleaner recovery than that. The putter came most of the way too, from 139th to 53rd.

His adjusted scoring average was 69.74, ninth on tour. That is a top-ten player by any sensible definition, and the world ranking agrees: tenth as of this week.

The majors tell the other half. Tied ninth at the Masters, tied seventh at the PGA, tied 11th at the U.S. Open, tied 18th at The Open. Four weekends, no Sunday charge. He played well enough to cash the cheque and never well enough to frighten the leader.

What has gone: the iron play

Lay the three seasons side by side and one line keeps falling.

Strokes gained approach: 0.678 in 2024 (6th). Then 0.578 in 2025 (12th), the one part of his game that survived the injury year. Then 0.315 in 2026 (44th). That is less than half the 2024 figure, and it has dropped every year.

Around the green has slipped the same way, from 0.195 (42nd) to minus 0.016 to minus 0.033 (96th). In 2024 he got a little back with the wedge. Now he gives a little away.

Add it up. His 2026 strokes gained total of 1.008 is almost a full shot a round worse than 2024. Off the tee accounts for none of it. Approach is about 0.36 of it, putting about 0.34, the short game about 0.23. Over four rounds that is close to four shots a week. In 2024 he won Valhalla by one and Troon by two.

The putting will wobble up and down; it always does. The approach number is different. It is the part of his game that made him a major champion, it held up even when his ribs did not, and it has been sliding for three years. He hit 68.93 per cent of greens this year, 44th on tour. Two years ago only five players were better with the irons.

So the answer to the question is both, and it is not a dodge. Schauffele is still a top-10 player who contends: seven top-10s, two podiums, a world ranking still inside the top ten. What has gone is the edge with the irons, and with it the margin that turns a tied seventh into a win. Until that approach number gets back towards 0.6, back him for top tens and leave the majors to someone else.

Still the man you want in the last match

September at the Presidents Cup in Medinah showed the other side. The International team led 10½ to 7½ going into Sunday singles. The Americans came back to win, and Schauffele played the anchor match against Ryan Fox, the reigning Open champion. Six birdies, and a 15-footer on the 17th to close it out 2 and 1.

That is the same nerve that won him Olympic gold in Tokyo in 2021. The nerve has not gone anywhere. This October he went back to Yokohama to defend the title, ranked tenth in the world and still looking for the irons.

For more on how that ranking is built, see our guide to the Official World Golf Ranking, and for the tour he plays on, our PGA Tour guide.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many majors has Xander Schauffele won?

Two, both in 2024: the PGA Championship at Valhalla in May and The Open at Royal Troon in July.

Has Xander Schauffele won since his two majors?

Yes, once. He won the Baycurrent Classic in Japan in October 2025, his 10th PGA Tour title. He went winless through the 2026 regular season and playoffs.

What is Xander Schauffele's world ranking?

He was 10th in the Official World Golf Ranking as of 8 October 2026. His career high is second.

Why has Xander Schauffele not won a major since 2024?

A rib injury wrecked his 2025, and in 2026 his driving recovered fully but his approach play did not. He gained 0.315 strokes a round on approach in 2026, less than half his 2024 figure.

Sources

• PGA Tour: Xander Schauffele stats and results: 2026 strokes gained by category, adjusted scoring average, greens in regulation, tournament finishes, cuts, top-10s and earnings
• PGA Tour: strokes gained total leaderboard: 2024 and 2025 strokes gained figures and ranks by category (via the year selector), 2024 ranking behind Scheffler
• ESPN: Xander Schauffele 2024 results and 2025 results: major finishes and season results in 2024 and 2025
• ESPN: Schauffele wins PGA Championship for first major: 263, 21 under, major record, one shot over DeChambeau
• PGA Tour: Schauffele ignores narrative, wins PGA Championship: opening 62 tying the major record, 72nd-hole birdie
• ESPN: Schauffele wins Open Championship after final-round 65: bogey-free 65, nine under, two over Rose and Horschel, "best round" quote
• PGA Tour: Schauffele misses Tour Championship for first time: 2025 rib injury and two-month layoff, "mentally a long season" quote, end of eight-year East Lake streak, putter change
• PGA Tour: Schauffele edges out Greyserman at Baycurrent Classic: closing 64, 10th Tour win, move to No. 3
• PGA Tour: Presidents Cup Sunday singles recap: 10½ to 7½ deficit, anchor-match win over Fox 2 and 1
• OWGR: Xander Schauffele: current ranking 10th and career-best ranking of 2nd

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