The Open Championship might be days away, with a chance for Xander Schauffele to become the first repeat winner since Pádraig Harrington in 2008, but even his father, Stefan Schauffele, found himself looking ahead to the Ryder Cup. Even though the competition is months away, the elder Schauffele has already decided that he won’t be making the trip to Bethpage Black, calling the biennial event “unwatchable.”
In a wide-spanning interview with The Times’ Tom Kershaw, Stefan Schauffele made it clear just how irritating he’s found the last few Ryder Cups, from the money demands to the boorish fans to the Rory McIlroy-Joe LaCava dust-up.
“Do I miss the PGA Tour? No. I’m not going to the Ryder Cup either. I’m afraid of what’s going to happen in New York. I was there [at Whistling Straits] when they called Shane Lowry’s wife a w**** in front of him. I couldn’t believe my ears.
“Then I saw what happened in Rome. That was utterly disgusting, claiming this money bullsh*t and Rory [McIlroy] behaved disgustingly in my opinion [when he confronted Cantlay’s caddie, Joe LaCava, in the car park]. It’s only going to get worse. It’s ruined my appetite for the Ryder Cup. It becomes unwatchable.”
Those are strong words from the father of one of the game’s best players … and a lock for this year’s Ryder Cup! And yet, this isn’t a stunner from the always honest and extremely forthright Stefan Schauffele.
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In the same interview, Stefan revealed that LIV Golf offered Xander $200 million—“They could’ve doubled the money and we still wouldn’t do it,” he said—and opened up about one of the most emotional moments of his life.
Stefan Schauffele was a German decathlete Olympic hopeful until hit by a drunk driver in a 1986 car crash, and Xander gave him the gold medal he always desired after winning in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
“You’re going to make me cry just thinking about it,” Stefan said. “He understood how huge the Olympics was for me. We got in the car and he gave me the medal and said, ‘This is for you.’”
We feel safe in saying that Stefan Schauffele will not have that touching connection to an American Ryder Cup win at Bethpage Black. In fact, we’re not even sure he’ll be tuning in.
