World No. 6 Shoply "Overcoming COVID-19"... "First Tournament of the New Year~"

Last Month, Girlfriend Tested Positive for 'COVID-19' Along with Positive Diagnosis, Recently Released from Self-Quarantine

[Asia Economy Kim Hyun-jun, Golf Specialist Reporter] "Overcoming COVID-19."

World No. 6 Xander Schauffele (USA, photo) will make a dramatic appearance at the first stage of the 2021 PGA Tour, the Sentry Tournament of Champions (total prize money $6.7 million). According to the AP News on the 6th (Korean time), "Schauffele's girlfriend contracted the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) last month, and a few days later he also tested positive," adding, "He experienced mild COVID-19 symptoms but was recently released from self-quarantine."

It is interesting that Schauffele originally did not qualify for this tournament. This is because it is a 'champion of champions' event where only last year's winners participate. Moreover, Schauffele had the painful experience last year of sharing the lead (14-under 278) with Justin Thomas and Patrick Reed (both USA) on the final day, only to finish tied for second after a playoff. Thomas secured a crucial winning birdie on the third playoff hole at the 18th hole (par 5) to claim the title.

Fortunately, Schauffele secured his ticket by qualifying for the Tour Championship, the final third round of the playoffs, in September. This was due to the PGA Tour being shut down for three months starting in March because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Only 28 champions emerged last year, and the PGA Tour eventually included Tour Championship participants in the entry list, totaling 16 players. Schauffele also said, "I was lucky," adding, "I'm already happy that the new year has started in Hawaii."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.