Smylie Kaufman weighs in on Xander Schauffele’s choice to skip event before Ryder Cup

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This week could be the most significant yet in the lead-up to the 2025 Ryder Cup.

11 of Europe’s 12 players are set to play in the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth, while 10 members of the US team will compete in Arizona at the Procore Championship.

As for the Americans, Bryson DeChambeau cannot take part due to his affiliation with LIV Golf, as expected.

Xander Schauffele, on the other hand, has decided to skip the tournament. No official explanation has been given, raising a few eyebrows as the event fast approaches.

PGA Tour winner Smylie Kaufman reacted to Schauffele’s controversial absence during an episode of The Smylie Show.

Smylie Kaufman raises doubts over Xander Schauffele’s Ryder Cup readiness

Kaufman expressed concern that Schauffele could be underprepared for the Ryder Cup, given his extended time away from competition.

The reasons behind Schauffele’s absence from the Procore Championship have not been disclosed, but it has still raised eyebrows.

“My first storyline is Xander Schauffele not playing. That was a player I was kind of looking forward to seeing compete, as he didn’t make the Tour Championship, as everybody recalls.

“So he is even further away from his last start when he shows up to the Ryder Cup. It is going to be a full month before Xander plays a competitive round again.

“Maybe he has a prior commitment. I doubt you will see him play the week before the Ryder Cup. So that’s a bit of a surprise not to see Xander playing.”

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He added: “Clearly, he is going to have question marks heading into the Ryder Cup, and I think figuring out who that number two guy is going to be, Bryson is that guy who you would think, but he is another player who is not going to have many starts before, so who knows how rusty he might be to start the Ryder Cup.

“I don’t think that if one of these guys goes out and wins Napa, it doesn’t mean that he is going to play well Ryder Cup; it would just be nice to see all the players from both sides. I would love to see them all playing the weekend.

“And I think if anything, if you see the majority of the team missing the cut, that would be the only thing to monitor. If one side has guys not making the weekend, that would be a storyline that I would be following.”

Questions surround Schauffele’s readiness ahead of Ryder Cup

While Xander Schauffele has maintained a respectable level of play by PGA Tour standards, his recent form has not quite matched the expectations set for a world top-five player.

His only two top-20 finishes in the last five events came on links courses in the UK. He also missed out on qualifying for the Tour Championship at East Lake, finishing tied for 28th at the BMW Championship.

With Schauffele now skipping the Procore Championship, he will head to Bethpage Black having not played competitively in over a month.

It is possible that US captain Keegan Bradley might decide to give him a reduced role based on his lack of recent play. That decision is likely to depend on how things unfold over the coming weeks.