Xander Schauffele: I haven’t picked up a club since THE PLAYERS

Xander Schauffele has been sheltering in place in his apartment in San Diego with his girlfriend and their 5-month-old puppy. His brother, who lives eight minutes away, sometimes comes over to play Scrabble, Monopoly and Risk as they while away the time.

Like so many other sidelined players, Schauffele is just trying to stay healthy and sane as the coronavirus pandemic rages across the globe.

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“Haven’t really taken a deep dive in any card games yet,” Schauffele said in a conference call with reporters Wednesday. “… It’s been strange. I haven’t completely lost it, but speaking for myself I’ve lost a sense of purpose in terms of work.”

Schauffele, 26, is a four-time PGA TOUR winner who was 12th in the FedExCup when the season was suspended. He came oh, so close to a successful title defense but lost a playoff at the Sentry Tournament of Champions (Justin Thomas), and was coming off a T24 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard.

Now, though, he’s in the same boat as everyone else, waiting for the season to resume.

He said he hasn’t touched a club since THE PLAYERS Championship was cancelled nearly three weeks ago. Sometimes he goes out on his balcony to look out at the bay, but venturing outside feels like “walking on eggshells.” He said authorities recently closed San Diego area parks to the public, and he didn’t want to tempt fate or step out of line.

“I’m just trying to be a law-abiding citizen here and just do my part, I guess,” Schauffele said.

He keeps a tiny bottle of hand sanitizer in his pocket, but has no masks. He sometimes hops on the cardio machine in his living room, and otherwise occupies himself with games, screens and the occasional news article.

As it happens, he was already thinking about his health, having had a few more bouts with the flu than he’d like in recent years. He had blood work done at the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill, but now feels fine while hundreds of thousands worldwide battle the ravages of COVID-19.

Schauffele has texted back and forth with Charley Hoffman, a fellow San Diegan who is Player Director on the PGA TOUR Policy Board, but otherwise hasn’t had much contact with his fellow pros. His parents, both in their 50s, are healthy. He’s healthy, too, as are his brother and girlfriend.

“I have groceries here; I’m ready for the next two weeks,” he said. “Just waiting for news from the commissioner on how we’re going to adjust our schedule.

“I could play in a TOUR event tomorrow,” he continued. “That’s just how I think, though, and what I believe. I feel like I can pick my clubs up and play whenever.”