Xander Schauffele flew to Japan for the Zozo Championship, the lone PGA Tour stop in the Land of the Rising Sun, with some extra carry-on baggage. He brought the Claret Jug awarded to him as the Champion Golfer of the Year in July. But it was a two-major season for Schauffele, who also won the PGA Championship in May.
During his pre-tournament press conference on Tuesday in Chiba, Japan, Schauffele was asked if bringing the British Open trophy he won at Royal Troon in Scotland meant it was his favorite.
"You can't put it in a carry-on, I'll say that much," he explained of the PGA's Wanamaker Trophy, which is big and bulky and checks in at 27 pounds. It measures 10 ½ inches in diameter and from handle to handle it's 27 inches. "It would be a massive trunk."
Zozo Championship: Thursday tee times
Schauffele, whose mother is of Taiwanese descent but grew up in Japan, said he hadn't had a chance to show the silver jug to his grandparents yet because he and his wife had been too busy on an eating tour of Osaka and Kyoto after their early arrival.
"I was a tourist along Dotonbori there and in Kyoto, went to a couple shrines and enjoyed some onsen with my wife, so it was very, very relaxing," he said. "First time for both and (the Zozo is) always one of my favorite stops of the year."
Schauffele won the gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, but even before that triumph the home fans have treated him as one of their own. He's making his sixth consecutive start at the Zozo and said the greens are running fast and if the wind blows and the rain stays away this could be the highest winning score posted at Accordia Golf's Narashino Golf Club. (The winning score has ranged from 14 under to 19 under in four previous tournaments held at the course.)
Xander Schauffele smiles on the eighth green during the first round of the 2024 PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club. (Photo: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports)
Schauffele already has enjoyed the best season of his career, rising to second in the world and winning two majors, but he'd love to cap it off with a victory on what feels like home soil.
"It would be a cherry on top," he said. "I have a lot of my family that will be out and my grandparents will be out. I don't get to see them very often, so delivering the gold medal to them was really special during that COVID year. I think delivering another win in front of 'em and for 'em would be even more special."
Collin Morikawa can tell Schauffele all about it. He experienced that rush of pride in securing victory in Japan after shooting a bogey-free final-round 63 to win the Zozo Championship last year.
"Being half-Japanese and looking back at that and just being able to connect with the people out here, it means the world," Morikawa said. "When you're able to just kind of touch on that little aspect a little bit more, sometimes it pulls a little bit more out of you."
While Morikawa and Schauffele have ancestral roots that make winning in Japan more meaningful, Hideki Matsuyama carries the weight of a nation on his broad shoulders. In 2021, he pulled off a remarkable double - becoming the first Japanese player to win the Masters and then returning home with his Green Jacket to win the Zozo for the first time. Earlier this year, Matsuyama added trophies at the Genesis Invitational and the FedEx St. Jude Championship, giving him 10 Tour titles, the most of any male Asian golfer.
But this week hits a little differently for Matsuyama, who is treated like a rock star whenever he plays in Japan and acknowledged that he feels some added pressure.
"I don't play often in Japan, but when I do, I look forward, really look forward to this event and hopefully I can play well," he said.