Why this Las Vegas golfer is approaching 2024 like an ostrich

Xander Schauffele is approaching 2024 like an ostrich.

Whether it’s the ongoing battle to determine golf’s future or the steps he needs to take to qualify for the 2024 Olympics, the Las Vegas golfer will blissfully stay out of it.

“At the end of the day I am a small piece of a big puzzle, and I think everyone wants to see that puzzle sort of whole without missing pieces,” Schauffele said last week of the fracture in the sport created by LIV Golf. “I think the product is probably better if (we’re) all together than sort of split up. I don’t have the metrics on what that looks like or anything. I couldn’t tell you ratings were worse or better, really. I really put my head in the sand when I tell you that.”

Schauffele enters the 2024 season ranked sixth in the world. He is the third highest-ranked American behind No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and No. 5 Patrick Cantlay. Schauffele needs to remain in the top four by the summer to make it to Paris to defend his gold-medal performance in the 2020 Olympics.

But he said that’s not on his mind at this point.

“Head in the sand. My slogan this year,” Schauffele said. “It’s definitely in there in my brain somewhere deep. Deep down. Really just want to get off to a good start. I’m honestly more worried about what my West Coast Swing is going to look like right now versus sort of five, six months from now. If I can take care of business, or if I play well enough, then I think I should be able to qualify for that team. It’s going to be tough.”

Schauffele was among the most vocal critics of PGA Tour Commission Jay Monahan when the PGA Tour surprised its players in June with a plan to work with LIV Golf organizers on a partnership. Schauffele said the bombshell announcement had him lose trust in the tour’s leadership. But as the calendar turned to 2024, Schauffele is staying far away from the issue.

“I’m sure there’s some smart people out there that have some ideas on how to do it correctly. I’m not one of them,” Schauffele said on finding a solution to golf’s issues. “You’re going to bother some people more than others. A lot of people feel like they’re owed something. So, when you take sort of everyone’s opinion into play, I think you just need someone that’s really smart that’s going to create a fair pathway back for everyone to play again.”

As the two sides try to come to an agreement — the negotiating period having been extended beyond the original deadline of the end of 2023 — LIV fired a salvo at the PGA Tour by poaching Jon Rahm away. Schauffele has no opinion, or at least one he cares to share, on the world’s No. 3 player leaving.

“I really don’t have a whole lot to say on that, to be honest,” Schauffele said.

What he does have a say in is his own game. That is where his focus is right now. After winning three times in 2022, Schauffele failed to hoist a trophy in 2023. His focus is on winning in 2024. He admits to being selfish to obtain that goal.

“We’re entertainers, at the end of the day,” Schauffele said. “I love what I do for work, and I’m obsessed with my job.”

Greg Robertson covers golf for the Review-Journal. Reach him at grobertson@reviewjournal.com.