Xander Schauffele had a virtually flawless opening round of the PGA Championship on Thursday, going nine-under par for a bogey-free round of 62. Hours after play wrapped up, Johnson Wagner tried to recreate one of Schauffele’s best shots of the day for The Golf Channel.
That was anything but flawless.
Schauffele’s tee shot on the fourth hole, a short par-four, finished just short of the green. Schauffele’s pitch finished just a few inches away from the hole, leaving him with a kick-in birdie putt.
As he’s done throughout the season, Wagner — a three-time winner on the PGA Tour — went onto the course after the round, trying to give viewers of Golf Central a more in-depth look at the shot.
Wagner previewed what was to come, saying “Selfishly, I wish he had hit it in the first cut over here — or the rough or a bunker. I’ve got a little bit of chipping yips going on from tight fairways at the moment.”
He wasn’t lying. Wagner’s first attempt was a pure chunk, finishing well short of the green. His second was the opposite, as Wagner hit the ball thin and it flew well beyond the hole. “You’ve just seen why I have the chipping yips. I got a chunk and I got a skull.”
After changing clubs, Wagner began to talk about how well Schauffele has been playing. When he went to hit his third chip, he acknowledged, “My hands are shaking.” Wagner then chunked another shot. It went further than his first chunk but was pushed well to the right. At that point, he had enough.
“Alright. I’m done. Guys. It’s been fantastic. Y’all have a great show. I’ve sufficiently embarrassed myself.”
Re-creating Xander Schauffele’s chip shot on the 4th, @Johnson_Wagner got the yips LIVE on air. 🙃💀
📺: Golf Central Live From the #PGAChamp pic.twitter.com/fXhCURrn6N
— Golf Channel (@GolfChannel) May 17, 2024
“I want to remind people. That’s a three-time PGA Tour winner. It’s a hard game. Live TV is brutal,” host Rich Lerner added.
It’s tough to argue.
[Photo/Video Credit: Golf Channel on Twitter/X]
