Xander Schauffele has admitted his surprise at how exhausting he found the Presidents Cup, with Team USA needing to stage a remarkable fightback on Sunday to avoid defeat at Medinah.
Had you missed the week and only seen the scoreline, you would not have been at all surprised to see Brandt Snedeker's side had won 17-13 in Illinois. It is the 11th time in a row that the Americans have defeated the Internationals.
However, the scoreline does not come close to telling the full story. Geoff Ogilvy's side were absolutely superb over the first three days to take a three-point lead into the singles. It seemed that they were on course to win the event for only the second time ever.
The team in black and gold won seven of the nine foursomes matches, while they only lost each fourball session by one point. Unfortunately, Team USA were simply sensational in the singles.
Only Tom Kim and Sungjae Im were able to win a full point for the Internationals on Sunday. Given the start the Americans made, it appeared that every point was going to be crucial down the bottom of the order.
In the very last match out, Xander Schauffele defeated Ryan Fox. While Team USA's victory was confirmed by the time Schauffele's win was sealed, the American looked nailed on to secure a point long before he ended the match on the 17th hole.
Speaking about the week ahead of defending his title at the Baycurrent Classic, Schauffele revealed the toll the event took on him.
"Yeah, Chicago was very stressful. We played really well on Sunday, but our backs were against the wall and probably came off the course pretty tired after what was a pretty big battle. You know, I think we're all elated and very happy to win, but it definitely took a lot more out of me than I thought," he said.
"So happy with the win, but a lot of stress as well."
Winning the Baycurrent Classic last year felt like an important moment for Schauffele. It was his first victory since the 2024 season in which he managed to lift two major titles.
It was also a first win since dealing with a rib injury at the start of 2025. He needed some time to get back towards his best, with Schauffele failing to make the Tour Championship for the first time in his career.
So he will hope that returning to Yokohama Golf Club inspires him. Speaking before the first round, Schauffele explained the key challenges at the venue.
"I think keeping it in the fairways is very important. The rough is difficult to gauge coming into the greens. In order to be aggressive, I think last year I hit a fair amount of fairways and that definitely opened up a lot of the holes. That would probably be my first priority for the week," he said.
Schauffele is now one of the longer hitters on the PGA Tour , but much closer to the middle of the pack when it comes to accuracy. So it is not going to be easy for him to retain his title.
