Xander Schauffele continued to play exceptional golf at Le Golf National at the Paris Olympics. In fact, not even an ant hill could slow down Schauffele.
Schauffele entered the day two shots back of Hideki Matsuyama for the lead. Following an early bogey on the par-3 2nd, the two-time major champion caught fire. Schauffele birdied six of his next nine holes to sit at 11-under.
However, on the par-4 13th, the reigning Champion Golfer of the Year found the “long stuff,” as Schauffele called it, off the tee. That is when the adventure began.
“I'm taking practice swings and I'm trying to get to my ball and I can't even — what's going on, something is behind my ball,” Schauffele said.
“I went down and saw a pile, so I called an official. It was just ants. It was a pile of ants, an ant pile, or whatever you want to call it, and their home; so I didn't want to mess with it. Couldn't take relief. It's a loose impediment.”
Schauffele was not granted the club's length relief due to the ant hill being a loose impediment. Technically, the defending Olympic gold medalist could have argued for the Abnormal Course Conditions including Dangerous Animal Conditions rule, but instead opted to go another way.
“I called for a second official because I asked the lady if I can use my club to scrape the sand since it's loose, and she's like yes. My gut was like, oh, boy, am I really going to use my club, have it on film, and then talk to you guys after?
“I got a second opinion and the guys said I could not move the grass but use my tee to move the ants. I didn't do anything to be honest… ended up hacking out 50 yards on the fairway.”
Schauffele would ultimately bogey the hole. He bounced back to birdie 14 though and is tied for the lead entering the weekend.
Xander Schauffele looking to repeat as Olympic Golf champion
Golf returned to the Olympics in 2016 following a 112-year hiatus. The sport was previously a part of the 1900 and 1904 Olympic Games.
Schauffele entered his 2024 season known as maybe the best player in the world without a major. Part of that perception was created at the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo when Schauffele won Gold. The San Diego native would go on to win numerous PGA Tour events and nearly won a few majors. But he faltered a number of times on Sunday, until this year that is.
Schauffele broke through at the PGA Championship at Valhalla. He then followed that up with a dominating victory at the Open Championship. His performances have vaulted him to the No. 2 spot in the Official World Golf Rankings, trailing only Scottie Scheffler.
But is he goes on to win Gold at the Olympics yet again, to go with two majors, Schauffle is making a serious case for Player of the Year.
Follow Us
Subscribe