Entertainment

Q&A: Hear from Xander Schauffele’s swing coach, Chris Como

Published

1 year ago

July 31, 2024

Xander Schauffele isn’t just the defending champion for this week’s men’s Olympic golf competition. He also arrived in Paris fresh off his second major championship of the year. It has been a career year for Schauffele, who won his long-awaited first major title in May at the PGA Championship, then added The Open Championship earlier this month.

His success has come after he began working with swing coach Chris Como late last year. Como appeared on this week’s edition of the “Talk of the TOUR” podcast to discuss his work with the 2021 gold medalist, and to give an inside look at Schauffele’s season. The full podcast can be watched here.

Xander is the reigning gold medal winner and also a winner of two major championships this year. What’s it been like to see his season up close, to watch a guy achieve a dream he’s been chasing for so long?

Chris Como: It’s crazy, right? It’s so weird. Life is crazy. It’s like things never happen as fast as you expect them to. And they also seem to happen faster than you expect them to at the same time, right? It’s never exactly on the timeline you sort of expect.

I feel very blessed to be able to go along on this ride with him and his team. He’s had this incredible team for a long time. You know, his dad, Stefan, has coached him and still is such a huge part of it and did a great job in developing him. His caddie, Austin Kaiser, their relationship’s great, and he’s one of the best caddies in the world. Derek Uyeda has been his putting coach forever. During The Open, I kept texting Derek. I was like, “I love you.” (Schauffele) made a bunch of key putts. Xander is one of the most consistent best putters out there. He’s gotten some incredible (clubhead) speed with his trainer, David Sundberg, just really getting his body in top top shape in the gym.

And then Marnus Marais is one of the best physical therapists in the world.