'Got My A** Kicked' - Xander Schauffele Has Tough Return To Action At Bay Hill

Xander Schauffele admitted he "got my a** kicked" by Bay Hill as he struggled in his first round back from a rib injury

Xander Schauffele at the Arnold Palmer Invitational
(Image credit: Getty Images)
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After eight weeks out with injury, Xander Schauffele could hardly have picked a harder spot to return than at a windy Bay Hill for the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

And the World No.3 admitted he "got my a** kicked" during a five-over round of 77 at Bay Hill on his return from a rib injury.

Schauffele was far from the only one to struggle on a tough first day at the Arnold Palmer, and he definitely felt some rust with five bogeys in a row around the turn.

That's tough to take for the double Major winner of last year, but he expected it to be a tough place to make his return, and he took it well with a smile on his face as he discussed his round.

"Yeah, it was, you know, got my a** kicked," smiled Schauffele. "Yeah, it's a tough place to come back to, not going to lie.

"Palm Springs would have been nice, something like that, that would have been a little bit easier, miss a couple, get a way with it."

Schauffele says that the setup at Bay Hill, especially on the greens, was similar to a Major so could hardly have been a tougher place to make his comeback.

"I'm a bit of a masochist I guess. I knew I was going to come in on short notice to what is sort of like a Major championship setup around the greens, and with the greens being crusty, I really felt it there more than anything else."

A plus point for Schauffele was that after his first competitive round back his rib injury did not bother him, and physically he felt "great" as he starts his build-up to The Masters where he could claim a third Major victory.

Golf-wise, Schauffele admitted that conditions got the better of him early on, especially on the greens, but he did see signs of improvement when the wind dropped.

"Just not really seeing lines, not playing enough break, not giving enough respect to certain holes," Schauffele said of his putting.

"Tried hard to prepare, but it really - as the wind laid down I was hitting some nice shots and, you know, that's what I was more used to."

Paul Higham
Paul Higham
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Paul Higham is a sports journalist with over 20 years of experience in covering most major sporting events for both Sky Sports and BBC Sport. He is currently freelance and covers the golf majors on the BBC Sport website.  Highlights over the years include covering that epic Monday finish in the Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor and watching Rory McIlroy produce one of the most dominant Major wins at the 2011 US Open at Congressional. He also writes betting previews and still feels strangely proud of backing Danny Willett when he won the Masters in 2016 - Willett also praised his putting stroke during a media event before the Open at Hoylake. Favourite interviews he's conducted have been with McIlroy, Paul McGinley, Thomas Bjorn, Rickie Fowler and the enigma that is Victor Dubuisson. A big fan of watching any golf from any tour, sadly he spends more time writing about golf than playing these days with two young children, and as a big fair weather golfer claims playing in shorts is worth at least five shots. Being from Liverpool he loves the likes of Hoylake, Birkdale and the stretch of tracks along England's Golf Coast, but would say his favourite courses played are Kingsbarns and Portrush. 

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