‘Idiot’ Xander Schauffele cards quadruple bogey at Zozo Championship
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Xander Schauffele hits the second shot on the first hole during the first round of the Zozo Championship.
PHOTO: AFP
INZAI – Two-time Major winner Xander Schauffele called himself an “idiot” after carding a quadruple-bogey eight on an opening day to forget at the PGA Tour’s Zozo Championship in Japan on Oct 24.
The 30-year-old’s three-over 73 left him 10 strokes behind the first-round leader, fellow American Taylor Moore, who had an eagle on the 18th on his way to a 63.
Schauffele, the 2024 PGA Championship and British Open winner, found that his wayward tee shot on the par-four ninth at Narashino Country Club had wedged itself among tree roots.
He attempted twice to hit the ball but failed to dislodge it and looked set to take a third swipe at it before shaking his head, laughing and opting to take a penalty drop for an unplayable lie.
“I wanted to take a photo of it almost, how bad it was,” he said.
“For me to think I can do anything definitely got me in a hole there.
“I should have just taken an unplayable, but I was an idiot and tried to hit it.
“Then I was stubborn and tried to hit it again, then finally took an unplayable.”
The eight was the only blemish on an otherwise uneventful three-over card, which had one birdie and 16 pars.
“Overall it was pretty low stress for most of the day,” he added after finishing in a tie for 70th.
“Like 85 per cent of the day was not very stressful.”
World No. 2 Schauffele was not the only big name to struggle on a tough day in Chiba, near Tokyo.
Defending champion Collin Morikawa opened with a birdie three, but a bogey on the fourth hole and a double-bogey two holes later on the par-five sixth set him back before he recovered with three more birdies for a one-under 69.
“I just kind of went through a little lull, missed a couple numbers, started missing some fairways,” the world No. 4 said.
“Out here if you miss the fairways, it just plays a little bit tougher and you just can’t get close to the pins.”
Japan’s Olympic bronze medallist and home crowd favourite Hideki Matsuyama carded five bogeys and four birdies in a topsy-turvy one-over 71.
Moore’s 63 gave him the solo lead, one stroke ahead of Americans Max Greyserman and Eric Cole, and Colombia’s Nico Echavarria.
Regarding his eagle on the 18th, Moore said: “I had plenty of green to work with. I hit a nice chip and it went in.”
The American and Echavarria each have one victory on the PGA Tour, while Greyserman and Cole are looking for their first. Greyserman is playing a tournament for the first time in two months.
“The first time in my life I’ve actually had like time off from golf for an extended period of time without injury, so it was kind of nice just to spend more time with my family and my wife, stuff like that,” he said.
“I haven’t really played, practised that much, to be honest.” AFP
