Xander Schauffele employs untraditional strategy for FedEx St. Jude Championship’s course originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
When we play golf among our friends, leaving yourself short-sided into a green means you have little room to chip it close and recover-it’s a dreaded place to be, even for those of us with the craftiest short games. At the PGA Tour level, missing a green on the short side can be that much more complicated because the green speeds are usually so much faster, and the pins are often tucked even closer to edges than what we’re used to during a weekend round with the boys.
So it’s fascinating when a top-ranked player comes to a course as they do to TPC Southwind this week in Memphis, Tennessee, and says that the place to miss a green if you end up missing one is on the short-side. World number three Xander Schauffele said this was the case in an interview last spring with the Beyond the Clubhouse Podcast.
“Memphis is a really good example that comes to mind where actually short-siding yourself is the miss a lot of times,” Schauffele said of TPC Southwind. “Playing to the fat side of the greens actually gives you an up and over to a lot of pins versus if you actually short-side yourself on a lot of holes, you actually are chipping straight up to the hole.”
The two-time major winner knows it sounds counterintuitive, but he’s very convinced of his position. “It doesn’t look correct, but it ends up being correct on property, and I think that’s what makes Memphis difficult when it’s playing hard.”
Schauffele’s become revered as an amazingly consistent U.S. Open contender, as he’s yet to finish outside the top 14 in seven starts-a mind-boggling accomplishment that points to super-strengths of course management and mental tenacity among many.
“U.S. Opens are usually pretty obvious as far as course strategy,” Schauffele said. “You have to hit the fairway, and it’s a bit of an execution contest. If you’re in the rough then you’ve got to put it back into position and then hit a really good wedge.”
Schauffele begins his final round at 5-under par and tied for 21st, which has him projected at 39th in the FedEx Cup Playoffs standings. The top 50 in the rankings by conclusion of Sunday’s round qualify for next week’s BMW Championship near Baltimore, the second of three total playoff events to end the season.
Related: Justin Thomas Ended His Drought With an Assist from Xander Schauffele
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Aug 10, 2025, where it first appeared.
Read the full article here
