Xander Schauffele can take a bow, even if this wasn't the encore anyone expected. In contention for the first time all year — his final start of a PGA Tour season forgettable on so many levels — Schauffele played bogey-free on the back nine in Japan and produced a clutch birdie on the 17th hole that carried him to victory in the Baycurrent Classic.

A year that was never more frustrating ended with a victory rarely this satisfying, especially at what feels like a second home in Japan. His mother and his mother-in-law grew up in Japan. “I’m sure when I look back on 2025 at the end of my career I’ll smile and think it was a great year,” Schauffele said. Compared with last year? Maybe not. That was when Schauffele took his place among the elite in golf by winning the PGA Championship and the

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