Xander Schauffele makes drinking claim ahead of Olympics: "Quite a feat for myself"
Two-time major champion Xander Schauffele has revealed he went on a three-day drinking binge after he claimed The Open Championship at Royal Troon.
Xander Schauffele revealed he let loose after claiming The Open earlier in the month by drinking for three straight days.
Schauffele claimed his second major title of 2024 at Royal Troon and will attempt to become a double Olympic champion this weekend.
He faces stiff competition from the likes of Scottie Scheffler, Jon Rahm and Rory McIlroy for the gold medal.
But the 30-year-old American has insisted that he's now fully focused on his game again after consuming a variety of beverages from the claret jug.
"I don't really drink much alcohol," Schauffele told reporters on Tuesday.
"So three days in a row drinking was quite a feat for myself, and the recovery...that was also slow.’
"I wear like an Oura ring or WHOOP and for me, tracking my sleep every day.
"Took a while for me to get my scores back to where they normally are, put it that way."
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"It was really chill"
It would be something of an understatement to suggest 2024 has been a whirlwind year for Schauffele.
As ever, he was a pillar of consistency on the PGA Tour before finally breaking through at Valhalla to claim his first major win at the PGA Championship.
He was imperious by the Scottish coast earlier in the month, particularly on the back nine on the final day, to back up his PGA Championship win.
His glory at Royal Troon meant that he became the first player since Brooks Koepka in 2018 to capture two majors in a year.
Schauffele headed to Portugal for a break with his family and wife Maya after the win.
His Olympic teammate Collin Morikawa and his partner Katherine also joined them.
"I was in Portugal with Collin and we had a really nice time there," he said.
"We played golf for three days and it was fun. We had our girls with us and some nice team bonding.
"It was really chill, as chill as I would have wanted it, especially after a really tough stretch."
Reflecting on Tokyo win
Schauffele won the gold medal at the Covid-hit Games in Tokyo.
There were no fans present but he was able to share with victory with his father Stefan.
"It would have been really cool with fans, but it was really intimate that my dad was the only person there with me besides Austin," he said.
"When I came off the green and I was able to sort of share the medal with him, it was as cool as it gets for me, being something I could deliver to him that he’s always wanted.
"Golf was in the Olympics, then it was out of the Olympics. So a lot of the kids were watching Tiger, or if you’re a little bit older, Jack or Arnie – the older legends of the game.
"You're watching them win majors but, for me, it's very personal, the relationship my dad and I have with golf.
"A lot of it surrounds his teachings of when he was trying to be an Olympian.
"I grew up watching the majors but maybe in 30, 40 years, it (winning a gold medal) is something that's really going to be special as it gets more traction. The normalcy of being in the Olympics."
Schauffele will tee off in the first round of the Olympics at 11.44am CET alongside Jon Rahm and Viktor Hovland.
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