Father of Xander Schauffele says USA threatened to kick son off Ryder Cup team
September 22, 2021; Haven, Wisconsin, USA; Team USA player Xander Schauffele poses for a photo during a practice round for the 43rd Ryder Cup golf competition at Whistling Straits. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
Xander Schauffele was one of six golfers who earned an automatic qualifying spot for the 2023 U.S. Ryder Cup team in Rome, but he was apparently in jeopardy of being removed from the roster leading up to the event.
Schauffele’s father, Stefan, told the Times of London that the PGA of America threatened to remove Schauffele from the U.S Ryder Cup team if Xander did not sign the team’s player participation and benefit agreement before an unspecified September deadline. Stefan said Xander had received the agreement in July and expressed some concerns about it.
According to Stefan, there were three changes Xander wanted to the player participation and benefit agreement. He says the PGA of America did not respond to the concerns and only threatened to kick Xander off the team.
“The PGA of America were not willing to even talk to us about (the three amendments),” Stefan Schauffele said. “It was very late in the schedule right before the team came here (to Rome) to practice because they had moved the deadline and they said, ‘If you don’t sign it by then, you’re off the team’, but they never gave us the contact information of their legal counsel.”
Stefan said “the head of the PGA of America” eventually stepped in on Sept. 2 and answered Xander’s questions. The elder Schauffele said he received a message after that saying Xander was back on the U.S team. Stefan described the way the situation was handled as “shameful.”
One of Xander’s concerns pertained to access a Netflix documentary crew would be given in Rome to film the second season of its “Full Swing” docuseries. Schauffele is one of the tour pros who has not signed a release to be included in the documentary. The U.S. team eventually decided not to allow Netflix cameras to have access. Captain Zach Johnson said the decision was made to preserve “the sanctity and sacredness of Team USA.”
A report during the week claimed Patrick Cantlay chose not to wear a hat at Marco Simone in order to protest players not being compensated enough for participation in the Ryder Cup. Interestingly, that same report also claimed Cantlay and Schauffele, who are close friends, were isolated from the rest of Team USA.
Cantlay claimed the hat report was absurd, but fans in Rome ruthlessly trolled Team USA over it. The Americans tried to embrace the narrative and use it as fuel, but they lost the event 16.5 to 11.5.
Even if the details were not entirely accurate, it is clear there were members of the U.S. team who were not happy with the business side of this year’s Ryder Cup.
H/T Golf Digest