Xander Schauffele Makes Valhalla Look Way Too Easy On Day One, But Major Question Still Lingers

Xander Schauffele was embarrassed by Rory McIlroy during the final round of the Wells Fargo Championship this past Sunday, losing to the four-time major winner by six shots before finishing runner-up by five. Many questioned how Schauffele would come out of the gates at this week's PGA Championship, and the answer seems to be like a man absolutely possessed.

Schauffele began with a disappointing par on the gettable Par 5 10th hole, but a birdie on the Par 3 11th jump-started his round, and he never looked back.

The 30-year-old made the turn at five-under par, then picked apart the more difficult front nine in just 31 shots to post a bogey-free 62. His 62 is good enough for the course record as it bested the 63 that Jose Maria Olazabal posted during the 2000 PGA Championship.

Schauffele is no stranger to shooting 62s in major championships, given that he was the last player to accomplish the feat just last year during the U.S. Open at Los Angeles Country Club. He was already one of just three players to ever shoot a 62 at a major championship, and now he's done it again.

While firing a 62 in a major championship is wildly impressive, it doesn't matter, at all.

Schauffele is at the point of his career where winning, more specifically winning what would be his first major championship, is all that matters. The fact that he shriveled up and took a beating from McIlroy for four straight hours this past Sunday at the Wells Fargo has only emphasized the idea that Schauffele simply can't get it done when it matters most.

It's impossible to know if losing to McIlroy in the fashion he did less than a week ago has affected Schauffele's psyche at all, but it's safe to assume nobody in this week's field was ready to tee it up and get things going at the PGA Championship than Schauffele so he could at least attempt to get that bad taste out of his mouth.

The former PGA Tour Rookie of the Year has finished runner-up in both The Masters and The Open to go along with a T-3 finish at the 2019 U.S. Open. His best finish at the PGA Championship came in 2020 when he finished T-10.