(Photo credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images)

Xander Schauffele had a very good reason why he didn't join his teammates for a Ryder Cup tune-up earlier this month.

Schauffele and wife Maya had their first child in late August, and the two-time major champion only peeled himself away from home a few weeks ago to set out and begin his preparation for this week's competition at Bethpage Black in Farmingdale, N.Y.

'His name is Victor. That's my middle name,' Schauffele said, before joking, 'No, I didn't name him after (European Ryder Cup player) Viktor Hovland. I was Victor way before Viktor was born.'

'I feel very lucky to have my wife. She's at home with him right now. I miss (Victor) a bunch. I had to sort of rip the Band-Aid when I was leaving the house, just kiss him on the forehead and walk out before I started staring at him. It's been cool to sort of learn what it's like to be a dad, and I look forward to everything that comes with that.'

Schauffele said he's tried to be a good teammate to his wife, leaving his clubs in his bag for a few weeks after a disappointing 2024 season on tour. He didn't join 10 of the 12 United States team members who played the Procore Championship in Napa, Calif. two weeks ago, but captain Keegan Bradley and his staff were checking on Schauffele as well.

'It was funny to get some texts from Captain and a lot of assistant caps like, 'Hey, how you doing?' Because I wasn't able to make Napa,' Schauffele said. 'But it was good to prepare at home on what was limited sleep but sort of a much clearer head than in season.'

Schauffele, 31, said he started ramping up two weeks ago and is 'surprisingly playing kind of nice' so far this week.

Perhaps part of the reason for the surprise was that Schauffele did not play up to his standards in 2025. Early on, he missed two months with a rib cage injury. While he did not miss a cut in 15 events, he was rarely in contention, with three top-10s and zero top-five finishes.

Ending the year by winning the Ryder Cup -- and heading home to baby Victor -- could be a perfect way to salvage his season.

'Yeah, there's definitely nice ways to end seasons,' Schauffele said. '... It's already been a fun start sharing the locker room with these guys and the caddies and the wives and Keegan has done a nice job of bringing everyone in as a big family. There's a lot of warm and fuzzy feelings on that front. But nothing as warm and fuzzy as winning one of these things.

'Baby steps; our team knows it's a process and what we need to do to get it done. It would help me forget a lot about what happened in 2025.'

--Adam Zielonka, Field Level Media