Tag: Stefan Schauffele

What will 2024 British Open champ Xander Schauffele drink from the Claret Jug? His father Stefan is calling the shots

The silver Claret Jug, which Schauffele will have custody of for one year, is even sweeter to Stefan.

TROON, Scotland – Xander Schauffele drank whiskey out of the Wanamaker Trophy after his victory at the PGA Championship in May. What will he drink out of the Claret Jug after winning the 152nd British Open? He said he’d leave that up to his father, Stefan.

“I’m just curious to see what my dad is going to pick as a first drink to drink out of this,” Xander said at his winner’s press conference on Sunday after shooting 6-under 65 to win by two strokes over Justin Rose and Billy Horschel. “He’s going to have to figure out what he wants to put in there because he’s taking the first gulp out of it.”

The answer is a no brainer according to Stefan.

BRITISH OPEN: Leaderboard | Photos

“Red wine,” he said. “We’re trying to find good wine. It’s a Claret Jug, no beer, that’s sacrilege. I’d rather put cider in it.”

Xander, for his part, noted that he rarely drinks alcohol but he’ll be making an exception to celebrate winning his second major championship in nine weeks.

“I don’t really get to celebrate too many things ever. This game is cruel at times,” he said. “So I have my whole family and most of my team here.”

Schauffele’s father, who was in Hawaii when his son won the PGA, said he took part in enjoying the Wanamaker Trophy and has it in his possession.

“It’s in my bedroom and I’m looking at it every morning,” Stefan said.

But the silver Claret Jug, which Schauffele will have custody of for one year, is even sweeter to Stefan.

“As a European-born this was special to me. Claret is the biggest, the untouchable,” Stefan said.

“For Xander, it might be U.S. Open and Masters. For me, it’s clearly the Claret just look at how cool it is.”

Xander Schauffele defends father’s Ryder Cup comments: ‘I know how things get twisted’

“I think the headlines sort of skewed obviously what he was trying to say.”

Xander Schauffele says his father’s feelings about whether Ryder Cup players should be paid to compete were taken out of context.

Speaking on Wednesday at a press conference in Japan ahead of the PGA Tour’s Zozo Championship, Schauffele said, “If you look at what he said, I wasn’t super fired up that he was speaking to media just because I know how things get twisted. I had to look back at what he said specifically and he specifically said that if the tournament’s for-profit, then players should get paid. He also said that if it’s charitable — it should be a charitable event most likely and that everything should get donated.”

The topic of whether competitors should be paid to play in the Ryder Cup became a topic of controversy in Rome during last month’s Ryder Cup when it was reported that American Patrick Cantlay refused to wear a Team USA cap as a sign of protest.

There is no purse at the Ryder Cup. The only prize is the 17-inch tall golden cup that the winner possesses for the next two years. But players and captains are given charitable donations of $200,000 each (vice captains receive a smaller amount), which they are able to gift to the charity of their choice. The PGA Tour also banks 20 percent of Ryder Cup TV profits, which is distributed to the Tour’s pension plan. Is that enough? Stefan Schauffele isn’t so sure.

“If they make profit off this and finance their organization of almost 29,000 [PGA of America] members for four years with the proceeds earned on the backs of these guys here, well, then they should share or they shouldn’t be allowed to do that,” Stefan told Golf.com. “Alternatively, they can donate all proceeds after opening the books to a charity of our joint choice, and then we will happily play for free. Please print that.”

While Cantlay was being grilled during the U.S. team’s press conference after losing the Ryder Cup about whether he didn’t wear a hat to avoid tan lines at his upcoming wedding, Xander Schauffele jumped in and said, “I apologize for anything my father said.”

A few weeks after the fact in Japan, Xander added, “I don’t know, when I look back on what he said, I think the headlines sort of skewed obviously what he was trying to say, but I don’t think he ever really spoke directly to what you’re referring to in terms of players getting paid. He just said it should be either/or, not really as confusing as it is.”

Xander Schauffele putts on the second green as his dad Stefan Schauffele looks on during a practice round prior to the 2022 U.S. Open at The Country Club on June 13, 2022 in Brookline, Massachusetts. (Photo by Cliff Hawkins/Getty Images)

Xander wasn’t asked whether he thought Ryder Cup participants should be paid to play in the biennial event. But both of the captains were asked that question during the Ryder Cup.

“Absolutely not,” European captain Luke Donald said when asked during the Ryder Cup if players should be paid. “[It’s] what the Ryder Cup represents. It represents true sport…It’s the purest form of competition we have, and I think because of that, the fans love it.”

Johnson added, “I would say if there’s anything that deals with money, there’s guys that would pay to play in this.”

Stefan Schauffele also opposed the PGA granting access to Nextflix to shoot in the team locker room during the Ryder Cup for the second season of “Full Swing.”

“Apart from the fact the guys don’t get paid, you cannot make a deal with a third party that we are not party to for rights into eternity,” Stefan told the Associated Press.

In speaking to Golf.com, Stefan made it clear that these were his opinions and while he knew he’d be seen as being unpatriotic, among other things, for them, he hoped it would lead to change down the road.

“Like with other things that I’ve tried to improve, it’s all about making a better product, right? That truly what it’s about,” he said. “This may not happen next time, but I think it’s a process and somebody has to start somewhere. And so I’m willing to take the heat and hopefully when I’d done walking around out here, then maybe this comes to fruition. It’s a long-term play, right?”

Stefan Schauffele says Xander’s Ryder Cup place was in jeopardy, sounds off on player payment

Stefan Schauffele gave pointed comments on player payment at the Ryder Cup to multiple outlets on Sunday.

Xander Schauffele compiled a 1-3-0 record at last week’s Ryder Cup, but according to a report in The Times, his status on Team USA was up in the air until just a few weeks before the event.

Stefan Schauffele, Xander’s father, told The Times that his son’s place on Zach Johnson’s squad was in doubt due to a dispute over an agreement granting Netflix access to the team room for its Full Swing docuseries. The issue reportedly wasn’t resolved until just weeks before a team scouting trip to Marco Simone Golf and Country Club near Rome. Stefan also claimed the PGA of America used “strong-arming tactics.”

A report from Sky Sports during the Ryder Cup claimed there was friction in the U.S. team room, and that Patrick Cantlay was at the center of the conflict due to his beliefs that players who play in the Ryder Cup should be paid. The reporter, Jamie Weir, also shared that “Before the Ryder Cup it was widely reported that (Schauffele and Cantlay) were the ones refusing to allow Netflix cameras access to the team room.”

Cantlay, who played twice alongside his good friend Schauffele, refuted the report all weekend.

Stefan claimed the “ink-smear” about a fractured team room may have developed Xander and Cantlay asking for a “player participation and benefit agreement,” which he said was sent in July, to be amended in three different places, one of which regarded the Netflix access. The U.S. went on to deny access to the team room to preserve the “sanctity and sacredness of Team USA” after a unanimous vote by Johnson and his players.

From the Times report:

“The PGA of America were not willing to even talk to us about (the three amendments),” Stefan Schauffele told The Times. “It was very late in the schedule right before the team came here [to Rome] to practice because they had moved the deadline and they said, ‘If you don’t sign it by then, you’re off the team’, but they never gave us the contact information of their legal counsel.”

“Saturday morning of Labor Day weekend (Sept. 2), finally, the head of the PGA of America got wind of this, because it was not him that was blocking it, and put our lawyers in contact with the PGA of America’s general counsel, and then it took a few hours to hash it out and it was fine. Then I received a message that Xander was back on the team. That you can quote. That’s the extent of this and I think it’s shameful.”

Stefan confirmed the issue of players not being paid is a point of contention, but told the Times it wasn’t discussed in Rome “because it’s the wrong venue and time,” but does think a conversation needs to be had and sides need to come to the table to negotiate.

“The PGA of America and Ryder Cup Europe need to be more transparent and disclose how this money from the Ryder Cup is being distributed,” he said.

“They are using players’ intellectual properties to make money and the American players don’t get paid,” he added. “More importantly, this would become a non-issue if all proceeds, net proceeds, from the Ryder Cup were to be donated to common charitable causes. Right now, the American players are asked to donate their time pro-bono in the name of patriotism so these organizations can benefit from the profits.”

“The PGA (of America) uses this money, and the PGA Tour gets 20 percent that goes into the retirement of every member. The 12 players supposedly need to eat it and their intellectual property gets abused for the benefit of 200 other people. That’s not right.”

But Stefan didn’t stop there. He also gave some interesting quotes to No Laying Up’s Kevin Van Valkenburg.

“If the PGA of America is a for-profit organization, they need to have the players share in that profit instead of being so damned intransparent about it with intent,” Stefan said. “They should reveal the numbers, and then we should go to the table and talk. Alternatively, they can donate all proceeds after opening the books to a charity of our joint choice, and then we will happily play for free. Please print that.”

“I think it’s absolutely non-controversial,” he continued. “Imagine if the winners got $2 million and the losers get nothing. How good of a competition would we have now? I think it could be made so much better because of that. I don’t see a negative there. I think we need to talk about it without bringing up the issue of patriotism, which I think is a really, really cheap shot. Because they’re so wrong, especially these (PGA of America members) are not owning any mirrors in their houses because they’re the ones that are not patriotic. Hopefully the conversation, in seriousness, leads to talks about it that make sense. And then everyone can be happy.”

The discussion around the Sky Sports report was never going to end with Cantlay’s denial, and Stefan Schauffele throwing gas on the sizzling fire has only ensured the discussion of players being paid will continue long after the 2023 Ryder Cup post-mortem ends.

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Why being an Olympian is ‘a big deal’ to Xander Schauffele and a bigger deal to his dad

The Olympics are ingrained in the Schaufelle family story.

When Xander Schauffele was asked at the U.S. Open if he intended to compete at the Tokyo Olympics, he remained firmly on the fence. He complained that the logistics were tricky, the inability to attend the opening ceremony, and the lack of a true Olympic experience. He seemed conflicted if it would be worth the effort.

“You’re kind of locked down in your hotel. You can’t go and see other venues or events. In terms of an actual Olympics, obviously, you’re playing for some hardware, some gold medals and whatnot, but the overall experience, which I hear is really cool, isn’t going to be there in Japan this year,” he said at the time. “That would be a reason not to go, I’d say.”

But Schauffele eventually decided to represent the stars and stripes in the men’s competition, which begins Thursday (Wednesday night in the U.S.), at the East Course at Kasumigaseki Country Club in Saitama, about 35 miles northwest of downtown Tokyo, after having a conversation with his father and swing coach, Stefan.

“He said, ‘If I don’t go to the Olympics, will I regret my decision?’ ” Xander said.

The elder Schauffele was a decathlete hopeful, who dreamed of being a member of the “Aufbaukader,” the famed German national decathlon team. He began training in earnest in track and field when he was 18, shortly after the death of his grandfather, Richard, the 1935 German track and field champion.

But in November 1986, Stefan was struck by a drunk-driver head-on as he was en route to the training facility. His dream was shattered. A piece of windshield lodged in Stefan’s left eye, requiring six eye surgeries within a two-year period. It failed to repair his sight and left him in a dark place.

“The last memory of my Olympic dream was all the guys from the German decathlon team coming to my hospital room. It was an emotional farewell,” Stefan said in a story published at XanderSchauffele.com. “Everything was over – my independence, my new life, my track career, my plans, and all my dreams. I certainly had a death wish. Dark times. There was alcoholism, lots of recreational drugs, and other excesses before I came to my senses and learned to fully accept the new reality that presented itself. I decided to use the misfortune as inspiration for my future. I adopted an attitude that it couldn’t get any worse in life and that would mean from here on out it’s relatively speaking all good – no matter what happens.”

The Olympics are ingrained in the Schaufelle family story — Richard Schauffele was named the head judge for all track and field throwing disciplines at the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games. Given the unusual circumstances of the Tokyo Olympics, which were delayed a year due to the global pandemic, athletes are only permitted one guest. Xander chose his father. That choice may sound obvious, but his mother, Ping-Yi Chen, was raised in Japan and has many relatives living in the Tokyo area. But he recognized that in some small way this was his father’s dream coming full circle. “He was supposed to make the team, but who knows,” Xander said.

“I became determined to ensure that my boys would find out how far they can go,” Stefan said. “In fact, I became obsessed with it.”

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And so while Xander grew up dreaming of winning majors like Tiger Woods, Olympic gold would be “a big deal” to him and an even bigger achievement to his dad. No words were spoken but none were needed: Xander knows his father would’ve enjoyed partaking in the opening ceremonies.

“I think maybe he would have gotten emotional, just because it was a dream of his for so long, he put all his eggs in one basket for such a long time and it got taken away from him and he’s learned how to deal with that situation,” he said.

Xander has empathy for what his father endured. That’s why Schauffele already has begun thinking about making the next Olympics, scheduled for Paris in 2024, when perhaps circumstances will be different and he could bring his father to the opening ceremony or to watch the decathlon live.

“Hopefully I can qualify for another Olympics,” Xander said, “so he can experience that and I think that would mean a lot to him.”

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