What To Expect In Xander Schauffele’s Return at Arnold Palmer Invitational

It’s not exactly Jack, Arnie and Gary, but if professional golf has enjoyed a so-called “Big Three” over the past year or two, those names are clearly Scottie, Rory and Xander.

So far this season, Scottie Scheffler has only been disappointing in relation to what we’re used to witnessing from him, as the nine-time winner last year endured a delayed return after offseason hand surgery and owns exactly zero victories in three tries. Rory McIlroy has one title in limited starts, triumphing at Pebble Beach last month to move from third to second on the Official World Golf Ranking.

Xander Schauffele has been the missing link of this trio, finishing T-30 in his season debut at The Sentry, then taking two months off to rest what’s been termed “an acute intercostal strain in his right rib cage.”

This week, he returns to action at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, which should spark questions as to what we should expect from the two-time major champion.

In the short term, at least, the easy answer is … not much.

Schauffele has competed at Bay Hill on three previous occasions, with results ranging from 24th place to 39th and just one sub-70 score in those 12 rounds.

It’s fair to believe that one of the world’s best players might struggle in his return from injury on a course where he hasn’t enjoyed much success even when healthy.

Over the long haul, though, don’t be surprised if this unplanned absence actually helps.

I realize I’m dating myself here, but allow me to tell the story of Justin Rose in 2014.

The reigning U.S. Open champion, a top-five player in the world at the time, underwent offseason shoulder surgery before the year started, a result of tossing his golf ball about 60-70 yards to his caddie, which didn’t exactly help the ol’ “Golfers are Athletes, Too” argument.

Anyway, he missed almost the first two months of the year and wound up recording just two top-25 results in five tournaments prior to the Masters. Starting with the year’s first major, though, he posted 15 top-25s in 19 starts, including at all four majors, with eight top-fives and victories on both the PGA Tour and European Tour.

I remember speaking with Rose late that year and he credited his strong summer to that late start, theorizing that he still had plenty of gas in the tank while others were worn out from an extra two months of tournament competition.

I’ve often thought about this hypothesis when a player is dealing with an early-season absence and Schauffele’s current scenario is no different.

Throw in the additional requirement of TGL that most elite-level players have been playing and those who’d like to have their games peak four times each year might actually be pooped by the time these four times have come around.

Without yet seeing him play this week at Bay Hill, it’s difficult to assess whether Schauffele will be ready to claim at third leg of the career Grand Slam five weeks from now at Augusta National.

It is, however, very possible that he’ll have a little more pep in his step than his peers when he defends his Open Championship title this July – or when he goes after a FedEx Cup title that’s been so elusive over the last handful of years.

When something good happens for Schauffele later this year, maybe one of those titles or just prolonged consistent play, it won’t be a surprise to hear him credit this two-month respite, not only giving enough time for his injury to heal, but allowing him to have a little more left in the tank when others are running on fumes.