One of the first times Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay spent quality time together was over an intense game of gin rummy en route to the 2019 Presidents Cup in Australia. The U.S. team’s 26-hour charter from the Bahamas to Melbourne afforded the Presidents Cup rookies plenty of time to bond, and bond Schauffele and Cantlay did — over sets, runs and exchanging of dollars. The spark between the two players did not escape U.S. team vice-captain Fred Couples.
In Schauffele and Cantlay, Couples saw more than just budding pals — he saw a budding partnership.
“Freddy [was] like, ‘Hey, I think these two guys would be unbelievable together,’” Schauffele said Wednesday from this year’s Presidents Cup at Medinah Country Club outside Chicago. “The way they play, they almost turn into one person when they’re playing alternate shot, which is all you can sort of ask for. And then just the way we interact. Holding each other accountable, but knowing that each of us are trying our absolute hardest on every shot. Just having each other’s back. Freddy sort of orchestrated that, and he was right.”
Schauffele and Cantlay played four matches together that week in Melbourne, winning two and losing two. Two years later, at the Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits, Schauffele and Cantlay teamed up twice more and went 2-0, including a 5-and-3 foursomes beatdown of Rory McIlroy and Ian Poulter. All in, the duo has partnered in nine Presidents Cup matches (going 4-1 in foursomes, and 1-3 in fourballs) and six Ryder Cup matches (3-3 in foursomes). Combined, that’s 7-4 in foursomes, 1-3 in fourball and 8-7 overall.
“Freddy Couples is actually the one who kind of made that happen,” Schauffele said. “I don’t know if anyone has ever really stated that. Yeah, PC and I both love Fred.”
Cantlay, who has long known Couples from the Newport Beach, Calif., golf scene, on Wednesday corroborated Schauffele’s account, adding that after he and Cantlay’s four-match run in Melbourne, they became “fast friends.”
None of this is to say that Schauffele and Cantlay have been invincible together. Far from it, as their just-better-than .500 record illustrates. Fourball has been particularly unfruitful for them, but Schauffele said that’s more a reflection of having limited reps in that format than it is of an inability to gel. Asked about their underwhelming fourball record, Schauffele cited their partnership at the 2022 Zurich Classic, where he and Cantlay opened with a fourball 59; Schauffele made six birdies that day and Cantlay added five more plus an eagle. “If we played 100 fourball rounds, who knows what our record would be?” Schauffele said.
Schauffele noted that when the team’s analytics whizzes are weighing in on optimal pairings, SG: Kinship goes only so far, especially when it comes to fourball, in which each player plays his own ball. ”Even though we’re friends, there’s better matchups to sort of complement the holes that we have in our games,” he said.
Indeed, at the 2024 Presidents Cup, Schauffele twice won with Tony Finau in fourball play, and Cantlay did the same with Sam Burns. In the opening fourball match Thursday at Medinah, Schauffele is paired with Cameron Young, and Cantlay with Chris Gotterup.
“I think there’s a lot of guys that pair up well together,” Cantlay said Wednesday. “The captains are looking at stats, among some other factors, so I think we’re a good alt-shot team and we’ve had our successes, so it’s always comfortable to have that pairing. I don’t think I played alt-shot in one of these events with anybody else.”
The most memorable of those foursomes matches came two years ago in Montreal, where Cantlay and Schauffele traded blows with Tom Kim and Si Woo Kim. Because of a weather delay earlier in the day, the match extended into near-darkness, with a fleet of golf carts illuminating the 18th green. When Cantlay had a 17-footer for the win, Schauffele had a sense for what was coming next.
“I always tell PC if it’s getting dark at home and we’re going to finish somewhere close to dark, the match is off,” Schauffele said Wednesday. “I don’t like playing Pat when it gets kind of dark. He has a knack for making these putts in the dark in these team events.”
Cantlay holed the putt to extend the U.S.’s lead to 11-7. His teammates rejoiced and never looked back, winning on Sunday, 18.5-11.5.
Somewhere, Fred Couples was smiling.
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