Schauffele wins in Japan, the country where his mother grew up and where he has many connections

YOKOHAMA, Japan (AP) – Xander Schauffele picked up another meaningful win in Japan, this one a PGA Tour trophy instead of Olympic gold, capping a frustrated year marked by injury and some doubt.

Schauffele birdied the 17th hole Sunday and closed with a 7-under 64 to hold off Max Greyserman and win the Baycurrent Classic. It caps off a season that saw him miss two months with a rib injury and fail to reach the Tour Championship for the first time.

“This is really special for me – sooner than I thought, to be fair,” Schauffele said. “I was running out of events in 2025 to sort of put my mark on it. I’m sure when I look back on 2025 at the end of my career I’ll smile and think it was a great year.”

It was a great year off the course – his wife gave birth to their first child, Victor, in late August. But it was a struggle to regain his form after missing two months at the start of the year, coming off a season when he won the PGA Championship and British Open.

And it was only fitting that he won in Japan, where his mother and mother-in-law were raised.

Schauffele finished at 19-under 265 at Yokohama Country Club and was one shot ahead of American Max Greyserman, who also was the runner-up at this event a year ago as he chases his first PGA Tour title.

Greyserman (65) fell two shots behind when Schauffele birdied the 17th hole. Needing to hole out from 190 yards to have any chance, Greyserman hit 7-iron that settled a few inches from the cup and left him a tap-in birdie.

Schauffele’s biggest win in Japan was the Olympic gold medal in 2021, though he had no support in the gallery because of the COVID-19 restrictions.

His maternal grandparents live in Japan. His mother was born in Taiwan and grew up in Japan. His wife’s mother grew up in Japan’s southern island of Okinawa.

“I’ve been coming here since I was about 9 years old to visit my grandparents,” Schauffele said. “I sort of fell in love with this country a long time ago. I can’t wait to bring my son here when he’s old enough to sort of understand and appreciate the culture here in Japan.”

“Yeah, the ties run deep for the Schauffele family here in Japan,” he added.

Schauffele and his wife, Maya, became parents a little over six weeks ago.

“It’s still kind of fresh, but it’s definitely a cool thing being a dad and I’m so excited to go home to him and Maya after this,” Schauffele said.

Schauffele was cheered during the tournament by family members who attended, including his 81-year-old grandmother who walked the course with him. He said there would probably be a get-together with family members later to celebrate.

“I mean, I don’t get to see them very often and they’ve always been gracious with their time to come out wherever the event was,” he said. “They’ve been awesome to me and this is pretty cool. I’ve really wanted to share a win with them, so can’t wait to get together with them.”

Greyserman held or shared the lead through the first three rounds. Michael Thorbjornsen finished with a 64 and was three strokes behind the winner.

Soft conditions and very little wind led to low scoring. American Matt McCarty shot an 11-under 60 – with a lost tee shot on his final hole – and still finished nine strokes back. Japanese Takumi Kanaya finished with a 9-under 62 and was five behind with winner.

McCarty had a chance at a 58 but hit into the trees on his final hole and settled for a bogey and a 60. Jim Furyk holds the PGA Tour record with a 58 in the final round of the Travelers Championship in 2016.