Schauffele recovers from COVID-19, optimistic about new year

KAPALUA, Hawaii (AP) — Xander Schauffele played the front nine of the Plantation Course when he arrived at Kapalua for the Sentry Tournament of Champions, and then he couldn't help himself.

Just beyond the ninth green was the 18th green, so he turned to caddie Austin Kaiser and said, “Let's go hit that putt.”

Schauffele is good at moving forward, which is not to suggest he never forgets. A year ago, he was on the 18th green in two and needed two putts to win. He knocked his first putt 7 feet by the hole in 30 mph gusts and three-putted for par to fall into a playoff with Justin Thomas and Patrick Reed.

Schauffele was eliminated after the first extra hole and Thomas went on to win.

“I two-putted,” Schauffele said. “No, I didn't hit it past the hole. It wasn't as windy. My mind was in a much better place. Like I said, beginning of the year, no demons."

Schauffele is just happy to be here. His girlfriend came down with COVID-19 in the middle of December, and a few days later, Schauffele tested positive and eventually had minor symptoms. His self-isolation ended in time to get out to Maui, and he feels healthy. The real test will be walking the Plantation Course when the tournament starts Thursday.

Schauffele is among 16 players at Kapalua who failed to win an official event, though he did have the lowest 72-hole score at the Tour Championship. The winners-only field is including players who reached the Tour Championship because golf was shut down for three months due to the pandemic.

Schauffele already has played four times in the new season, which began in September, and that includes two majors. Still, there's something about January.

“The beginning of the year is more blue-eyed, more open-minded,” he said. “The middle of the year you have a pulse on what's going on and where your game is at, how you've played and what you've accomplished. Everyone is excited at the beginning of the year, whether it goes well or not. And then you reassess in the middle.”