Former-Aztec Schauffele named PGA Tour Rookie of the Year
A final round scoring average of 68.94.
Two wins, including the Tour Championship.
Two top-20 finishes in major championships, including a top-5 at the US Open.
Over $4 million dollars earned in tournament finishes alone.
And now, a PGA Tour Rookie of the Year Award.
It was a banner year for the San Diego State alum.
https://twitter.com/XSchauffele/status/915419148464869376
Alexander Victor Schauffele (nicknamed Xander, for short) was awarded the honor for the PGA Tour's top rookie on Tuesday. The 23 year-old, who played his last season for the Aztecs in 2015, got off to a slow start in the Tour's 2016-'17 wraparound season. He missed five out of seven cuts spanning from late November to late February, and did not record a top-20 finish until the final weekend of April (T-11 at the Zurich Classic).
In June, he was on the outside of the U.S. Open bubble looking in. He went through the qualifying process in Memphis and played enough to earn an invite to the prestigious major, surviving a five-man playoff. He rode the momentum from qualification and an underdog mentality to a top-5 finish in the US Open.
Three weeks later, he won his first PGA Tour event at the Greenbrier Classic. The FedEx Cup points from the victory, as well as four top-20 finishes in his next six events (including a T-20 at the Open), earned him a trip to Eastlake Country Club for the PGA's Tour Championship.
Schauffele dazzled at Eastlake, outplaying the other top 30 golfers of the season--including PGA Tour Player of the Year Justin Thomas-- to win the event at -12. With the win, the former Aztec became the first PGA Tour rookie in history to win the event. The victory also bumped him up to No. 32 in the official world golf rankings. Prior to 2017, he was ranked No. 299.
In his Rookie of the Year season, Schauffele finished 16th on Tour in driving distance (306.8 yards), 20th in birdies per round (3.20), 26th in Greens in Regulation (68%), and 40th in strokes gained putting (.324).
