Xander Schauffele has had a whirlwind two weeks since winning the PGA Championship, highlighted by the moment he realized that, despite his major victory, his life felt unchanged. He holed a crucial 6-foot birdie putt on the final hole at Valhalla, ending a two-year winless streak and securing his first major. Yet, Schauffele remains grounded, driven by the same motivations and enjoying his simple lifestyle.
“Maybe I didn’t give myself enough time to sit and really take it in,” Schauffele said. “At home, I woke up one morning, looked at my wife, and said, ‘You know, it’s great. Nothing feels different. Our life feels the same.’ It was nice to be away from golf and enjoy normal life.”
However, Schauffele is eager to return to competition. His first stop is the Memorial Tournament, starting Thursday, which kicks off a three-week stretch of tournaments featuring top-tier fields. Muirfield Village is known for its generous fairways and major-championship-level rough.
This week’s Memorial Tournament will be followed by the U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2, known for its dunes and native wiregrasses, and the Travelers Championship, where the rough is thicker than ever.
“It’s going to be a really interesting stretch,” Schauffele noted. “Actually, the U.S. Open might have the least amount of rough out of all the places we’re playing the next three weeks, which sounds wrong.”
Two notable changes stand out at the Memorial. Tournament founder Jack Nicklaus adjusted the par-3 16th hole after complaints about its difficulty. The new layout now sees water running more down the left side, making the hole fairer. Additionally, the tournament’s timing is different this year, taking place the week before the U.S. Open rather than two weeks prior.
Nicklaus expressed a preference for the Memorial to return to its traditional date around Memorial Day, citing both historical significance and practical considerations. Discussions with the PGA Tour are ongoing.
“We would prefer the other week,” Nicklaus said. “We are here this week because the tour asked us to help them out. But we said we would review it after this tournament and we’ll figure out how we’re going to settle the schedule after that.”
Despite the changes, the Memorial promises plenty of excitement. Scottie Scheffler leads a strong field with 28 of the top 30 players, while LIV Golf hosts the remaining two in Houston. The tournament will conclude with Nicklaus’s traditional handshake at the 18th green.
Scheffler, who recalls watching the Memorial while in college, said, “It would mean a lot to me to shake his hand and win this tournament with all the history here and what Mr. Nicklaus has meant to the game.”