Close friends Patrick Cantlay, Xander Schauffele set for a Sunday showdown at Riviera

LOS ANGELES — The word has long been out on the PGA Tour. If you’re looking for a Tuesday game during tournament week, setting up a little money game with Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay comes with a caveat: They are a package deal.

“People needle us, you know what I’m saying,” Schauffele said on Saturday afternoon at Riviera Country Club. “To split us up as teammates, but we’ll do whatever; it’s not a big deal.”

They are two superstar golfers and Southern California natives as closely tied as most on the tour, on and off the course., even if there are more publicized friendships. Certainly, at this point, there isn’t a more formidable pairing, whether they’re joined as one force while donning U.S. team colors or contending seemingly week in and week out on their own.

Schauffele is ranked fifth in the world, Cantlay is seventh. Schauffele, 30, owns seven tour wins, including a team victory in the Zurich Classic with Cantlay, 31, who has eight triumphs. Both still seek the prize they covet most—a major championship.

So when Schauffele made a strong charge in the Genesis Invitational on Saturday with a six-under-par 65, the buzz returned to what looked like a potential Cantlay runaway—setting up a buddy pairing that could produce plenty of fireworks.

When Cantlay stumbled with a bogey on one of Riviera’s more forgiving holes, the par-5 17th, he came home with a 70 in the third round that gave him a two-shot lead over Schauffele and another native Californian, Will Zalatoris, who rallied with his own 65. Because Schauffele finished earlier, he made the final twosome with his friend as the contenders battle for the $4 million first prize.

“It’s a pretty comfortable pairing for us,” Schauffele said. “We play a lot, week in and week out, and we both love to compete. There’s nothing more we like to do than compete in big events. We’ve done it a few times and taken shots at each other. It’s something we talk about and something we want to keep doing.”

The statistics are revealing about how closely matched the two players are. They twice have been in the final Sunday group together—both in 2022—and each has a win, with Cantlay prevailing in the BMW Championship and Schauffele at the Travelers. Overall, they have been paired 20 times as competitors, with Cantlay holding a 10-8 edge with two ties. Schauffele is trending, having been on top in five of the last six. He also has the better overall scoring average in those matchups—68.5 to 69.

They were a strong team when they played together for the U.S. in the Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup, but they suffered losses in Italy last year. Despite that, they have been part of three winning U.S. teams and have a 6-3 record.

According to Cantlay, he and DeChambeau first connected at the 2019 Presidents Cup in Australia. During the tournament, vice captain Fred Couples recommended that they team up and play together. They participated in four matches together that week, winning two and losing two, and their friendship grew stronger as a result.

Whenever they participate in the same competition, Schauffele and Cantlay engage in early week matches together, a ritual they have probably carried out on over 100 occasions. Frequently, they team up against Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns, or Justin Thomas and Rickie Fowler. Occasionally, they switch up the teams and change the dynamics of the game as Cantlay indicated.

These matches have become more regular now that Schauffele spends some of his time in Jupiter, Florida, where several of his colleagues also live.

“In regards to the competition at Riviera, despite being two strokes behind, Cantlay appears to have the advantage. The Long Beach native, who attended UCLA, has played at this course around 25 times during college and on several other occasions. In contrast, Schauffele only started playing at Riviera in 2018, with his best result being tied for ninth place in six attempts.

Cantlay has achieved two top-five finishes here, including a third place finish on his own last year.” “Schauffele has not made a bogey in the last two rounds and has performed well in getting up and down from difficult situations, doing so successfully 82 percent of the time. Cantlay has been excelling in his iron play and putting. He ranks second in greens in regulation and first in strokes gained/putting, leading by a significant margin of 7.38.”

Schauffele mentioned that in order to surpass his friend, he needs to have a certain level of self-confidence. He also stated that he will not focus too much on the leaderboard and will continue to do what he has been doing, putting pressure on Pat being the key factor.