Xander Schauffele faced a challenging moment at the Zozo Championship when he ended up with a quadruple bogey on the ninth hole, leaving him ten shots behind after round one.
Returning to the Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club in Japan since his last appearance at the Presidents Cup, Schauffele’s tee shot on the par-4 ninth got stuck against a tree root, making things tough for him.
He tried twice to get out of this tricky spot before finally accepting it was unplayable, resulting in an eight on that hole and starting his tournament three-over-par.
Unexpected Challenges:
Throughout most of his day, Schauffele described his play as not very stressful. However, he regretted his decisions on the ninth hole that ruined an otherwise smooth scorecard. “Yeah, overall it was pretty low stress for the most part of the day,” he shared after completing a three-over 73. “No. 9 just… I wanted to take a photo of it almost, how bad it was.”
Fans might think he’s being too hard on himself because everyone makes mistakes sometimes.
Schauffele admitted trying to hit from an impossible position was foolish. He said he should have declared it unplayable right away but instead attempted two more shots that went nowhere before finally conceding defeat. His stubbornness didn’t pay off this time around.
Despite laughing off what he called a “meltdown,” Schauffele acknowledged overconfidence played a role in his misfortune. “The worst thing happened twice,” he noted about hitting into trouble again and again.
Yet, Xander remained optimistic since there were still three rounds left in this no-cut event. He hoped for better luck moving forward and aimed to claw back into contention with strong performances over the next few days.
Reflecting on rustiness from limited recent play since helping Team USA win at Royal Montreal’s Presidents Cup last month, Schauffele felt some shots weren’t as sharp as they could be but believed he’d improve soon enough.
Meanwhile, Taylor Moore led Max Greyserman, Nico Echavarria, and Eric Cole by one stroke after posting an impressive seven-under 63 in round one.
What do you think? Can Xander bounce back or will this rocky start haunt him through the tournament?
