Xander Schauffele’s stats take a hit ahead of PGA Championship title defense as insider breaks down his game

Xander Schauffele will be the defending champion in the 2025 PGA Championship at Quail Hollow. While fans know he is capable of defending his crown, there have been questions about his performance. However, golf insider Smylie Kaufman recently shared his thoughts on how Schauffele will do at Quail Hollow.

On the most recent episode of The Smylie Show, the golf insider discussed the PGA Championship's competitive field. He explained how the prediction is hard due to players such as Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler, Bryson DeChambeau, and many others. All of them have been consistent and have more momentum than the reigning champion, Xander Schauffele.

Although Smylie Kaufman also stated that Schauffele has developed some momentum in recent months. He has regular top 20 performances in his previous four tournaments. Maybe that gives the golfer enough momentum to win the whole thing at Quail Hollow. He stated (via The Golfing Gazette):

"He just has to have everything come together, I think it’s as simple as that. The results, good to see that he’s working his way near the top 10 in the leaderboard. We have talked about his putting this year and how that’s been down. But he gained one stroke on the green this week, which I think is a positive step. He’s had four weeks in a row where he’s finally in the positive with the putter."

Kaufman added:

"We knew that was eventually going to come back to the middle ground, to where he’s an upper-echelon putter on the PGA Tour, one of the elite putters. The Iron game’s been really good this year. The distance off the tee, 20 yards compared to the field average, that’s how much he was gaining as far as distance in yards goes last week at the Truist."

Six players have defended their PGA Championship titles, and it will be interesting to see whether Xander Schauffele becomes the seventh or not.

---

How has Xander Schauffele's 2025 season gone so far?

2025 PGA Championship - Preview Day Two - Source: Getty

Xander Schauffele has had a tough season thus far. He had a shoulder injury and lost a few months at the start of this season. But since then, he has had a terrific recovery, and here are the stats from all of his tournaments this season:

Jan 2 – Jan 5: The Sentry

• Position: T30
• Overall Score: 275 (-17)
• Earnings: $137,500

Mar 6 – Mar 9: Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard

• Position: T40
• Overall Score: 292 (+4)
• Earnings: $78,000

Mar 13 – Mar 17: THE PLAYERS Championship

• Position: 72
• Overall Score: 301 (+13)
• Earnings: $50,250

Mar 20 – Mar 23: Valspar Championship

• Position: T12
• Overall Score: 279 (-5)
• Earnings: $178,350

Apr 10 – Apr 13: Masters Tournament

• Position: T8
• Overall Score: 283 (-5)
• Earnings: $588,000

Apr 17 – Apr 20: RBC Heritage

• Position: T18
• Overall Score: 275 (-9)
• Earnings: $226,056

May 8 – May 11: Truist Championship

• Position: T11
• Overall Score: 271 (-9)
• Earnings: $440,000