Xander Schauffele has revealed Scottie Scheffler also had to swap out a non-conforming club at the 2025 PGA Championship.
Scheffler claimed major glory at Quail Hollow Club on Sunday after another superb week of golf from the World No.1.
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Schauffele has revealed Scheffler also had to swap out his driver after testingCredit: Getty
The 28-year-old was made to work for it on the final day in Charlotte as the likes of Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau pushed him.
Holding a commanding lead after Saturday’s third round, Scheffler started the finale sluggishly to give his rivals hope.
But as he rallied again, the chasing pack faltered and the Texan clinched a dramatic win.
And it turns out his task was made harder after having to make a late change-up to his bag prior to teeing off on Thursday.
News broke earlier in the tournament that Grand Slam champion Rory McIlroy had been forced to ditch his usual driver after it was found to be ‘non-conforming’ in random testing.
Clubs are regularly looked at to make sure they meet regulations and it is common for the USGA to ask players to switch out those who fail to meet the standard.
Despite being just another part of the professional game, the incident with McIlroy lead to social media accusations of cheating and now Scheffler’s name has been drawn into the debate.
Defending PGA Championship winner Xander Schauffele shot a closing 68 following a difficult defence of his title.
After his final round, Schauffele was asked about the non-conforming club news that had hit McIlroy and he revealed that Scheffler also failed this week’s driver test.
“I think Scott is winning the tournament and I think he switched to his backup too,” Schauffele said.
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Scheffler and McIlroy have had to deal with driver testing this weekCredit: Getty
The reporter asking the questions was surprise at the comments from Schauffele before he added: “See you don’t even know because he’s so good. We can deal with it because the equipment reps are so good now.”
After his win, Scheffler confirmed that he had fallen foul of the regulations.
“My driver did fail me this week,” he said.
“We had a feeling that it was going to be coming because I’ve used that driver for over a year. I was kind of fortunate for it to last that long, I felt like.”
Around a third of the 156-man field had their equipment tested at random and Scheffler added: “I would argue that if we’re going to test the drivers, we need to be even more robust in the way we test them.
“That was a conversation I had with one of the rules officials; if it’s something we’re going to take seriously, I feel like we’re almost going halfway with it right now.
“It’s a newer rule that we haven’t quite gotten right yet. I think we have some stuff to figure out. I think, if we’re going to do it, we might as well do it right, get more robust and get even more strict.
“You can test guys every week, if you want. I mean, there’s no reason why we shouldn’t.”
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McIlroy failed to get into contention at the PGA ChampionshipCredit: Getty
Schauffele has previous history with the club testing.
He experienced a similar issue during the 2019 Open and was furious that it became public knowledge.
Schauffele’s driver was one of 30 selected for random testing at the start of the week at Royal Portrush and found to be non-compliant, forcing him to use a different club in the first round before making adjustments to the original for rounds two and three.
“The R&A, they p***** me off because they attempted to ruin my image by not keeping this matter private,” Schauffele said at the time.
“This is me coming out and treating them the exact way they treated me. The only time I am an unhappy camper is when I feel like I’m treated unfairly.
“It is an unsettling topic. I’ve been called a cheater by my fellow opponents. It’s all joking, but when someone yells ‘cheater’ in front of 200 people, to me it’s not going to go down very well.”
Despite the late change to his big stick, Scheffler was superb at Quail Hollow, claiming glory by five shots.
“This is a special tournament,” he said.
“Any time you can win a major championship is pretty cool and I’m proud of how I did this week just staying in it mentally and hitting the shots when I needed to.
“This back nine will be one that I remember for a long time. It was a grind out there. I think at one point on the front, I maybe had a four or five-shot lead, and making the turn I think I was tied for the lead.
“So to step up when I needed to the most, I’ll remember that for a while.
“I always try to lean as much as I can on my mind. I think that’s probably my greatest strength.
“Today and this week I really just feel like I did just such a good job of staying patient when I wasn’t swinging it my best but I hit the shots when I needed to.
“I hit the important shots well this week, and that’s why I’m walking away with the trophy.”
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