According to the PGA Tour’s current world rankings, Xander Schauffele sits behind only recent Master’s winner Scottie Scheffler as the best golfer in the world.
And Michael Jordan took that personally.
The 2024 PGA Championship winner recently spoke with CBS Sports’ Colt Knost during a practice session. After the analyst asked Schauffele whether he had ever matched up with the NBA legend, Knost mentioned that it could be quite difficult to trash-talk Jordan on the fairway. Not only did Schauffele agree, but he proceeded to tell a pretty unbelievable story.
“I did my best version of it,” Schauffele said, “and then he beat me straight up, which is embarrassing. In the last three holes, yeah. I pancaked him on his stroke holes, and I started talking sh*t to him. He got all quiet, focused, and birdied like 15, 16 – no strokes, beat me straight up. I was like, “all right.”
Michael Jordan Gets Another W
Add this to the overflowing pile of legendary Michael Jordan stories! Obviously, we all know His Airness is an extremely talented golfer. Jordan has been crafting his game ever since his playing days. Still, beating a PGA Tour member – let alone the second-best in the world – is a stunning accomplishment. Why else do you think Schauffele called it embarrassing?
At the same time, there is something so ridiculously Michael Jordan about this story. Even Knost, who was shocked to learn the news, couldn’t help but admit this was extremely on-brand: “Weird he came through when he needed to,” the analyst joked with Schauffele.
The exchange is well worth a quick watch, so I’ll drop the full video below. Both Knost and Schauffele also couldn’t help but praise the GOAT’s putting.