Xander Schauffele defends the Open Championship this week at Royal Portrush Golf Club in Northern Ireland after winning last year at Royal Troon. He handed back the claret jug after holding it for his year as the Champion Golfer of the Year.
Now, his house is clear of trophies -- including the Olympic gold medal he won in Tokyo in 2021. In fact, Schauffele doesn't even know where that gold medal is.
Speaking ahead of the Open in Portrush, Schauffele explained that he keeps none of his trophies in his home. Asked where his trophies area, Schauffele said, "My parents' house probably in a bank vault. I think that's where some of the -- like one of the trophies was when they travel."
The follow-up question was wondering where that medal from the 2020 Tokyo Games -- pushed to 2021 by the COVID-19 pandemic -- is sitting.
"I actually have no idea where that is to be completely honest," he said.
Schauffele said keeping track of and showing off his trophies runs antithetical to how he sees himself.
"What am I going to do with it? I don't really invite people over to my house," he explained. "Am I just going to go look at it myself? That's the way I feel about it. I don't want to walk into a trophy room like look how great I am. I was just raised to think that way, and it's kind of stuck. I really don't sit at home, you know what I mean?"
Schauffele said there is some acknowledgment of his great achievements, including at the Olympics, but that was his wife's doing.
"My wife hung up some pictures of me in my gym of like me winning the Olympic medal, and she put it so high up I can't reach it. I have to get a ladder now, and it bothers me," he said.
The two-time major winner would prefer a photo that's more motivating than celebratory.
"Like if anything, put up like me in a Masters jacket, like that would piss me off, you know what I mean?" he said. "Something like that is more motivating than like, all right, that's not great. I don't want to look at that."
