Will Injuries Hold Schauffele Back from continuing history?

The Arnold Palmer Invitational opened up with action beginning Thursday morning, featuring a field of 72 of the top golf athletes in the world. Not only was this the long awaited signature event, but also the return of Xander Schauffele who is currently ranked No. 3 in the world. Making his return from a rib injury, Schauffele felt the rust shake off after a mediocre first round to say the least. Given this is his first appearance since his injury setback, those in attendance should expect improvements as Schauffele continues on. Bay Hill has over time shown how difficult of a course it can be, continuing that trend with an opening round five-over-par 77. 

Injuries To Blame In First Round? 

Being a top three player in the sport of golf, comes with high expectations and deservingly so. Yet, those expecting the familiar showings from Schauffele will need to stay patient. He is recovering from an intercostal strain and small tear in his rib cartilage. An injury that is more delicate than others, but still has allowed for Schauffele to make a comeback after a short hiatus from competition. 

Through the first nine holes of the tournament, a total of 5 bogeys were put together by Schauffele. A front end start that instantly put him behind schedule, not helping himself out on the back-end with a round one total of just one birdie. Understanding the time taken off, Schauffele was able to stay grounded and take a tough round on the chin according to reports. 

“Got my (butt) kicked,” Schauffele said. “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 away with it.”

Consecutive Cut Streak Up For Grabs?

Maybe even bigger than the tough round one put together by Schauffele, is the position he has put himself in. With one of the longest active streaks for PGA Tour cuts made at 57, along with Scottie Scheffler at 47 currently. Schauffele may have to hit the restart button, as he sits 43rd in the rankings for the tournament as it sits now. An impressive active streak that may now be in jeopardy, due to what can simply be rust on the behalf of missing two months of action. According to reports, It’s the sixth-longest streak in tour history. The longest, deservingly so belongs to Tiger Woods, putting together 142 in a row between 1998 and 2005. 

If the current No. 3 ranked golfer cannot continue his streak of making a 58th consecutive cut, Scheffler will have the sole spot all to himself. The closet will then be turned over to Collin Morikawa who currently has 20 consecutive cuts made. One positive in the book for Schauffele, is that the majority of the field had tough starts to Bay Hill. Giving the veteran another chance to not only extend his streak, but a slim chance to even shock the field with a tournament win.