Paris 2024 Olympics: Practice makes perfect for golf’s golden boy Xander Schauffele

Xander Schuaffele dreamed of competing at the Olympic Games for a long time. Then, he won them.

The 30-year-old from San Diego, California produced some exceptional golf to hold off a field chock-full of Major champions and medal hopefuls at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020.

It was a full-circle moment for Schauffele, who fulfilled a dream first had by his father as a young athlete growing up in Germany in the 1980s. A dream that was cruelly robbed from the elder Schauffele when his car was hit head-on by a drunk driver in November 1985.

“My dad wanted to be an Olympian,” stated Schauffele during an interview with Olympics.com.

“Him training to be an Olympian, and then that being swiped away from him, all the wisdom that he’s given me in mental preparation and training, all those notes and feelings that he had, they’re all tied to the Olympics.”

It has made the quadrennial sporting spectacle all the more “unique” for the two-time Major champion, which is why he’s eager to play catch-up before teeing off at Le Golf National.

Swinging into the unknown: Xander Schauffele’s preparation for Paris 2024

As the time-honored saying goes, practice makes perfect - and Schauffele couldn’t agree more.

He told Olympics.com: “I try to go with the flow as much as possible. You know, I feel bad if I make a mistake.”

“When I’m playing the tournament, if I believe it was on the wrong side of the hole and if it was a bad shot, it was a bad shot. But if I was sitting there and I didn’t take enough notes in preparation, knowing that I shouldn’t be where I hit it off a decent shot or a good shot, that kind of stuff bothers me.”

Schauffele’s ability to prepare for tournament golf will be put to the ultimate test at the Olympic Games Paris 2024.

Arriving in the French capital without much knowledge of the course, he’ll need to be a quick study if he wants to keep pace with the other medal hopefuls at Le Golf National.

“It looks like there’s a ton of water and 16, 17, 18, from what I can remember from TV, are very difficult closing holes,” he said. “So I think the venue will allow for an exciting finish when it comes to it.”

While the course may create a tight finish, Schauffele will look to establish a lead early in the competition to stave off any end-of-competition nerves. He’ll certainly want to avoid the fate that befell eight golfers at Tokyo 2020, which ended with a four-hole sudden-death playoff for the bronze medal.

To do so, he’ll rely on the notes taken by a close friend and avid golfer.

Teamwork makes the dream work at Le Golf National

Golf is classified as an individual sport, but winning an Olympic medal is far from a solo effort.

Schauffele is well aware of this. He’ll rely heavily on the notes taken by his “good friend” and caddie Austin Kaiser at Paris 2024.

“I feel fortunate Austin’s my good friend and he works his butt off to get all the notes down and preparation for me to feel more comfortable once the gun goes off,” said Schauffele.

He and Kaiser have known each other since college and proven to be a formidable pairing. Together, they have won multiple professional tournaments, two Majors, a Ryder Cup and an Olympic gold medal.

Nonetheless, their combined strength will be tested once more when Schauffele steps into the tee box at hole one.

“I’m not a spring chicken anymore,” said a composed and confident Schauffele. “I’ve been doing this for, I think this is my eighth year on tour, so I feel like I have enough experience under my belt to hopefully adapt quick enough to any conditions, if I’m given a big enough lead time.”

Still, the notes taken by Kaiser will be critical to any medal defense mounted by Schauffele.

Schauffele eyes a repeat victory at Paris 2024

While the luster of his first gold medal hasn’t worn off, Schauffele is already dreaming of a second.

“It would be a dream, no doubt,” he said. “When you just put it in perspective, I think Michael Phelps has 28 medals and 23 gold medals, so to have two would be, super, super cool. And it would be the first of its kind in our sport of golf.”

Indeed, Schauffele would be the first golfer to win back-to-back gold medals if he were to emerge victorious at Le Golf National on Sunday, 4 August.

It would be a fitting reward for a golfer who has worked during three seasons of tournaments to qualify for his second Olympic Games.

“I don’t think people talk about how stressful it is to actually try to qualify for this USA team,” said Schauffele. “It's really competitive and it feels like you just have to be a top-five or six player in the world just to get on the team and have a chance to compete in the Games.”

He enters Paris 2024 as the second-ranked golfer in the world, sitting comfortably behind teammate Scottie Scheffler. With Americans Wyndham Clark and Collin Morikawa ranked fifth and sixth respectively, a medal sweep isn’t off the table.

“I think we have an incredible US team in Scottie Scheffler, Wyndham Clark, Collin Morikawa and myself,” stated Schauffele.

However, there’s only one name he wants to hear called during the medal ceremony: Xander Schauffele.