Xander Schauffele has confessed to being "in denial" about the exhaustion he felt during the Travelers Championship amidst a hectic PGA Tour schedule.
The 30-year-old golfer, who's been on top form recently, has maintained his impressive streak at TPC River Highlands, sitting comfortably in 5th place during the third round. Despite his success, the PGA champion acknowledged that the intense series of games has taken its toll.
Following his second straight five-under 65 at the event, Schauffele opened up: "I think I was in a little bit of denial," he said. "This is probably the most in contention I've ever been in my life through a pretty hot stretch of golf.
"I think I'm probably more worn down than I thought I was, than I wanted to admit to my team. I think I got tired once everyone told me that I looked tired. I felt like I was fine."
Schauffele also noted the benefits of taking a break: "It's a lot of golf and, yeah, I think not playing this afternoon for myself is going to be helpful to sort of rest up and get ready for the weekend," he remarked. "It's been an amazing month for me - a few months, actually. For us golfers it's like a drug to be in contention.
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"It's an awesome feeling. It's why we practice, it's why we play the game, at least speaking for myself. Having a lot of opportunities to be in that final group on Sunday, even though I haven't gotten it done very often, only once, actually, in the last two years, is all I could ask for."
Schauffele has opened up about the pressures of the tour just days after Rory McIlroy's announcement of a break following his U. S. Open disappointment. The Northern Irish superstar suffered a crushing blow as he missed out on a major win for the first time in ten years to Bryson DeChambeau.
McIlroy, while extending his congratulations to DeChambeau for clinching his second U.S. Open title, shared his plans to step back and reflect on his performance at Pinehurst No. 2.
Rory McIlroy has taken a short break from the tour (Getty Images)He said: "As I reflect on my week, I'll rue a few things over the course of the tournament, mostly, the 2 missed putts on 16 and 18 on the final day. But, as I always try to do, I'll look at the positives of the week that far outweigh the negatives.
"As I said at the start of the tournament, I feel closer to winning my next major championship than I ever have. The one word that I would describe my career as is resilient. I've shown my resilience over and over again in the last 17 years and I will again."
Rory also announced his plan to take some time off to regroup before returning to defend his titles at the Genesis Scottish Open and The Open at Royal Troon, concluding with: "I'm going to take a few weeks away from the game to process everything and build myself back up for my defense of the Genesis Scottish Open and The Open at Royal Troon. See you in Scotland."
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