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Americans love their father-son stories in sport and the Schauffele yarn is up there with the best of them. <\/p>\n
Stefan, who grew up in Germany, was a decathlete back in the day, an aspiring Olympian who had his own dream crushed when hit by a drunk driver at the age of 20. He lost the sight in an eye and experienced trauma in his life. <\/p>\n
“There was some depression and alcoholism,” he said in a recent interview. “That’s what led me to moving to America.”<\/p>\n
He had a son and from the age of nine, Xander was a player. Stefan coached him and, from time to time, argued with him. Madly, on occasion. <\/p>\n
Everything paid off. A golfing machine was forged and we saw it in all its formidable glory at Royal Troon this past week.<\/p>\n
“Now he’s got this first major,” said Stefan after Valhalla, “it’s the first one of the four [nobody in Team Schauffele is shying away from the target of a Grand Slam]. <\/p>\n
“I’ve got a good feeling he’ll get the second one of the four this year. With him being as consistent as he is now, everybody is on notice.”<\/p>\n
Prescient words. For a number of years, Schauffele was deemed golf’s nearly man, a supremely talented player who could not back up his excellence with titles. <\/p>\n
This is his time now. Two majors in a single year is an other-worldly achievement in this era of the game, a period so full of established winners and thrusting young things who are utterly unafraid of winning.<\/p>\n
Schauffele said he had a chip on his shoulder about some of the negativity thrown at him. He used it as fuel. <\/p>\n
What is he going to use for motivation now that he is an acclaimed double major winner? “If you look hard enough, you can always find it,” he said. <\/p>\n
“It’s something, when you feel like you need an extra kick in the butt, there’s several easy ways to motivate yourself. <\/p>\n
“There’s still a lot of things that I’d like to do in my career, and this is a very big leap towards that. The fire is still burning, maybe brighter than ever.”<\/p>\n
He has the Olympics in Paris next, a gold medal to defend from his glory in Tokyo, another dream to chase before returning to the majors circuit next year.<\/p>\n
That is terrain he will travel as a two-time champion and an increasing force to be reckoned with in the ferocious environment of elite golf. <\/p>\n
Small in stature, for sure. But Schauffele is a colossus now.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n