Golf world No. 2 Xander Schauffele would not be on board with a PGA Tour-LIV Golf international series during the fall as merger talks rumble on.
Most of the top players tend to take time off in the fall - despite the season being packed full of events - to prepare for the season opener in January in Hawaii. “Right now, it sounds terrible,” Schauffele said at the Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club.
“My brother's bachelor party next week sounds terrible, too. I'm in a place where I'm trying to get over this finish line and play some really good golf coming in so I can enjoy myself.”
“I haven't really put a whole lot of thought about how I'd feel trying to tee up in a series overseas in November or December, or October even. I'm going to go overseas to Japan to play the Zozo [in late October],” added Schauffele, who has ties to the country due to his mom growing up there.
“That's the only event I'm going to play this offseason, or I guess this fall season. … I'm excited for my trip to Japan. I always am. It's a warm and fuzzy place for me. But to tack on multiple events would probably be tough.”
Schauffele isn't the only PGA star who has cited fatigue as an issue this year. World No. 1 and Olympic champion Socttie Scheffler has voiced similar concerns. In Scheffler's case, it wasn't helped by a shock arrest in May at the PGA Championship. He was detained on his way to Valhalla to make his tee time. Scheffler was charged with second-degree assault of a police officer, a class-C felony, third-degree criminal mischief, reckless driving, and disregarding traffic signals from an officer directing traffic - all of which were later dropped.
After the chaos at Valhalla, Scheffler shot a six-under-par 65 for a solid finish. "I put my head down on the scorer's table and I think I about fell asleep," he admitted. "I'm fairly tired, definitely a lot more tired than I've been finishing some other tournaments. Yesterday obviously was quite frustrating and a bit of a different day, but... was fortunate to be out here competing."
Scheffler went on to find the energy to win Olympic gold in Paris a few months later, adding a major honor to his already impressive 2024. Scheffler has put together one of the best seasons in decades on the PGA Tour. He has won six times on Tour, won a career-second Masters, and sealed Olympic glory in 2024. However, a frustration of Scehffler's is when his and Schauffele's years are compared. "I think sometimes I get a touch frustrated with the questions people ask," Scheffler said.
"Like, oh, whose year would you rather have? Would you rather have Xander’s year or Scottie’s year? It’s like, can’t we just enjoy some great golf that’s been played this year?" You had a guy win multiple major championships and you had a season like mine where I was able to win a good amount of times. I think it’s one of those things where we should just sit back and enjoy it. I’m just grateful for the year that I’ve had and I’m grateful for Xander’s year."
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