With his maternal grandparents watching in person and an infant son waiting back home, Xander Schauffele put a bright cap on an otherwise dim season by winning the 2025 Baycurrent Classic in Japan.
His 7-under 64 on Sunday at Yokohama Country Club was his first victory in 15 months. And it gave him extra cause to celebrate in a country where his family roots run deep.
Max Greyersman, last year’s runner-up in this event, repeated that role, finishing one shot back while chasing his first PGA Tour title. Tour rookie Michael Thorbjorsen, who joined Schauffele and Greyersman in Sunday’s final grouping, finished third, three shots back.
“I was plenty nervous,” Schauffele said. “It’s been over a year since I was even looking at winning a golf tournament. I was probably just as nervous as they were because I’ve done it before and I had to dig kind of deep in my memory to do it again.”
The win marks a memorable moment for Schauffele in what was an otherwise forgettable year. Sidelined by a rib injury at the start of 2025, he never regained the form he showed in 2024, when he won two majors and rose to No. 2 in the World Golf Ranking. Though the subpar play rattled his confidence at times, Schauffele said he’d taken positives away from this year’s Ryder Cup, where he earned three points in a losing U.S. effort and beat Jon Rahm in Sunday singles.
“I thought at the Ryder Cup I played pretty solid,” Schauffele said. “It’s very high stakes, high-pressure golf and I started to hit some shots that I wasn’t really hitting throughout the year.”
At the Baycurrent, Schauffele looked even more like his old self while playing in front of some familiar faces. Several family members were in the crowd, including his 81-year grandmother, who walked the course with him. Schauffele’s mother and mother-in-law both grew up in Japan, as did his wife, Maya, who is half Japanese. Though he was born and raised in Southern California, Schauffele said that he has felt connected to Japan from an early age.
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“I’ve been coming here since I was about 9 years old to visit my grandparents,” Schauffele said. “I sort of fell in love with this country a long time ago.”
Back home in the U.S., Schauffele’s family is larger than it was to start the year. Just over a month ago, he and Maya welcomed their first child, a milestone that came with a shift in mindset.
“Mentally, I definitely felt different,” Schauffele said. “I’m a young dad. He’s only just over six weeks old, but yeah, it’s weird. I’d do anything for him. That part mentally feels different than anything that – I haven’t really identified exactly what it is. It’s still kind of fresh. But it’s definitely a cool thing being a dad and I’m so excited to be home to him and Maya after this.”
In time, Schauffele said, he plans to do for his son what his own parents did for him.
“I can’t wait to bring (him) here when he’s old enough to sort of understand and appreciate the culture in Japan,” Schauffele said.
Meantime, he had a local celebration to attend, albeit a mellow one.
“Just probably a big get-together, just a few drinks,” Schauffele said. “You saw a lot of my family members aren’t of age to have any alcohol, so just a few drinks with the family and decompress a bit.”
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