Xander Schauffele is believed to be at an impasse with the PGA of America as it seeks to make a series of changes to player bonus contracts ahead of the Ryder Cup.
Xander Schauffele’s father has sensationally claimed that his son was almost kicked out of the US Ryder Cup team over a dispute over access to the Netflix teams’ locker room.
The investigation is now well underway after the Americans ultimately lost 16.5-11.5 to their biennial opponents Marco Simone. The performance of the pound on the opening day will help them maintain their form, despite a late recovery from the United States, as Luke Donald’s side fight to regain the famous golden trophy.
Now, it seems there is some anxiety behind closed doors in the United States ahead of the tournament about plans to film the Netflix documentary “Full Swing.” According to the Times, Schauffele may have even missed the tournament before finding a solution.
The report claims the 29-year-old’s father said his son had asked for a series of changes to be made to the player bonus contract he signed before the Ryder Cup. Among the proposals Schauffele made was a request regarding Netfiix’s filming plans.
Essentially, he reportedly requested that any camera crew be banned from Team USA’s locker room during the tournament. In the end, the players decided to agree to Schauffele’s request in a meeting chaired by team captain Zach Johnson. Explaining how the episode allegedly unfolded, Schauffele’s father revealed that his son was likely to face a situation of being dropped from the team. He declared:
‘The PGA of America was not even willing to talk to us [about the requested modifications].’
“Right before the team came here to practice, it was very late compared to schedule because the deadline had been postponed and they said:
“If you don’t sign by then you will be removed from the group,” but they never gave us contact information for their legal counsel.
“The Saturday morning of Labor Day weekend [September 2nd], the head of the PGA of America finally heard about it, because he wasn’t the one who stopped this and asked our lawyers I contacted the General Counsel of the PGA of America.
“And then it took a few hours to get everything sorted out and everything was fine. Then I got the message that Alex was back in the team. Which you can quote. That was the whole thing and I thought it was shameful.”
He was then paired with Patrick Cantlay in the Friday quartet, with his teammate moving in to quell any rumors of a rift in the camp. Speaking about the outrage over his decision not to wear a cap at the tournament, he denied speculation of infighting.
Speaking on Sunday evening, he said:
“This is completely untrue, it couldn’t be further from the truth. This week there was not a word at all. The US team has been close all week. These are complete lies.”