Alexander and Patrick grew up in Southern California. Both were solid athletes and gravitated to golf at a young age. While Patrick was slightly older, they competed against one another in the same junior tournaments during their adolescence and teenage years. Patrick was a member of the Servite High School golf team while Alexander was one grade behind and played for Scripps Ranch High School.
In 2010, Patrick won the California State High School championship. The following year Alexander did the same. Patrick had more of a national reputation among junior golfers and he decided to attend UCLA. Alexander was less well known and he initially enrolled at Long Beach State. Although he played well at Long Beach during his freshman year and was the conference freshman of the year, he decided to leave that school and played at San Diego State for the next three years.
During his freshman year at UCLA, Patrick won four collegiate tourneys. He also won the 2011 Southern California Amateur. He entered the prestigious Western Amateur that year (“the Masters of amateur golf”) and lost in the finals to Ethan Tracy at North Shore Country Club. North Shore is one of those old-time country clubs from the turn of the 20th century, having hosted the U.S. Open, two U.S. Amateurs, and the Western Open. Later that summer, Patrick qualified for the U.S. Amateur at Erin Hills in Wisconsin. Once again, he got all the way to the finals, this time losing to Kelly Kraft. He was a member of the winning 2011 Walker Cup team representing Team USA. He also won the Haskins Award and the Nicklaus Award as the top collegiate golfer in America. Although Patrick felt he was ready to turn pro, he stayed with the amateur game for another six months. As the runner-up in the U.S. Amateur, he had an automatic berth in the 2012 Masters providing he remained an amateur. He completed his second year at UCLA and turned pro in June of 2012.
While Alexander was also a California State High School champion just like Patrick, he still had some work to do with regard to his game. He kept plugging away and by his junior year it was starting to make more sense. He won the California State Amateur in the summer of 2014, defeating local hero Beau Hossler. In August of 2014 he too went to the Western Amateur and lost in the finals to Hossler. That year the Western was contested at Beverly Country Club, a past host of the U.S. Amateur and four Western Opens. Alexander ended up being named a third-team All-American for the 2015 season and decided to turn pro in June of 2015.
Patrick seemed like the “can’t miss” kid. He finished 21st in the 2011 U.S. Open at Congressional and was the low amateur. He was invited into the field at four PGA Tour events that year. He finished in 25th place or better in all four. He shot an amazing 60 in the first round of the tour event in Hartford. He spent the 2013 season on the Web.com Tour, finished 11th on the money list, punctuated by a win at the Columbia Championship. He earned his PGA Tour card as an exempt player and was a rookie during the 2013-14 season.
Alexander went through the Web.com Q School process. Because he wasn’t all that well known, he didn’t get any invites into tour events like Patrick. He finished 26th on the Web.com Tour in 2016 and just missed being one of the top 25. However, in the four tournament Web.com Qualifier, he finished 15th and became an exempt rookie on the PGA Tour during the 2016-17 season.
By now, most of you have figured out that the Patrick in our story is Patrick Cantlay. After five tournaments during his rookie year, Cantlay blew out his back. His rookie year was over. He couldn’t play the next year either. He tried to compete during the 2015-16 season, but only played in one event, still having issues with a balky back.
With his back coming around some seven months ago, Cantlay returned to the tour in the spring of 2017. Because he was still partially exempt from the 2013-14 season, he was allowed to enter 10 tournaments this past year. He made the most of the experience. He finished in second place in his second tourney of the year, the Valspar Championship. He finished third in April at Harbour Tour, and he kept moving up the money list throughout the summer. Cantlay qualified for the Fed Ex Cup playoffs, came in ninth at the BMW Championship, and made it to the final stage of the playoffs at the Tour Championship. After missing major parts of the past three seasons, 2017 was a good year for Patrick Cantlay. He should be able to build upon the experiences of the past year and add himself to the list of dynamic 20-somethings on tour.
Alexander had an even better year than Cantlay. He is better known by the nickname version of his first name. Alexander is Xander Schauffele. He wasn’t exactly setting the golf world on fire during the earlier part of the season. However, Schauffele qualified into the U.S. Open at Erin Hills and played rock solid during the first two rounds. He shot a 70 during third round play, and with the glare of the final round on him, he shot a 69 to come in fifth at the National Open. Xander built upon that effort in Wisconsin, headed to West Virginia the following month, and prevailed with a one-stroke win at the Greenbrier Classic.
Xander too qualified for the Fed Ex Cup playoffs. He was in 34th place, and yet a birdie-birdie-eagle-birdie-par-birdie finish over the last six holes at the BMW Championship was just what he needed to finish 26th overall and get into the Tour Championship. From there he found himself atop the leader board at the Tour Championship, birdied the final hole, and beat Justin Thomas by one shot. Xander became the only rookie to ever win the Tour Championship, and for his efforts he was the PGA Tour rookie of the year. He started the season ranked 299th in the world. Today he is ranked 32nd.
A new PGA Tour season is upon us. Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay are two Southern California kids who grew up competing against one another, took decidedly different paths to PGA Tour success, and are now part of the new breed of great young players on the American circuit. It all makes for a most interesting background for the new 2017-18 year.
