A tragic accident robbed Xander Schauffele’s father of his Olympic dream. Now, golf’s golden boy is out to honor him again
CNN
Over 63 days, Xander Schauffele’s life and legacy changed forever. Yet the origins of the golfer’s success stretches back almost four decades to one road in Germany.
Sixty-three days. That’s all it took for Xander Schauffele’s life and legacy to change forever. Yet the origins of the golfer’s golden summer stretch back almost four decades – seven years before he was born – to one fateful road in Germany. Long-tarred with the backhanded label of ‘the most talented golfer never to win a major,’ the American shredded that tag with a vengeance, scooping both the PGA Championship and The Open Championship in a stunning two-month stretch. Before that, the 30-year-old’s most prestigious prize was an Olympic gold medal, clinched in Japan in 2021. On Thursday, he will tee off in Paris as the defending champion, but also as a son. Because his father, Stefan Schauffele, never got his shot at The Games. Those dreams of representing Germany in the decathlon were shattered in 1986 when, en route to the national training facility in Stuttgart, the 23-year-old was struck by a drunk driver. “Hit him pretty much head on,” world No. 2 Schauffele told CNN Sport’s Don Riddell. “Went completely blind in his left eye. He was in and out of hospital for two years.”
Team USA avoided a World Baseball Classic disaster on Wednesday when Italy pulverized Mexico, ensuring the Americans advanced to the quarterfinals.
Cinderella is a funny girl when her glass slippers are Nike issued. We are amused by her as a lead-up to the ball, love her if earns a party-crashing admittance and then goes on to trash the place in the first weekend. But not everyone is so eager to hand her one of the coveted 37 extra tickets held in reserve.
New York Giants co-owner Steve Tisch is requesting his ownership stake in the team be transferred to his children, according to an internal NFL memo.
Team USA is on the verge of one of the most embarrassing exits in World Baseball Classic history and, at this point, there’s nothing they can do about it.
Rick Barnes has been a head coach for 48 years. Won 857 games, been to the NCAA Tournament 29 times. He is not a man who needs to explain or even create a culture around his team. It sort of just exudes from him at this point.
Seven members of the Iranian women’s soccer team have remained in Australia, while the rest of the squad has now left the country for Iran, a source has told CNN Sports.
After their final defeat in the AFC Women’s Asian Cup on Sunday, supporters of the Iranian women’s football team crowded around their bus shouting at police to “save our girls” as it pulled away.
The Iran women’s national soccer team was forced to salute and sing its anthem on Thursday ahead of its Women’s Asian Cup group stage match against host Australia, sources close to the team tell CNN Sports, just days after the squad refused to do so in its tournament opener.
Lou Holtz, the College Football Hall of Fame coach who led Notre Dame to the 1988 national championship and won 249 games over 33 seasons at six schools, has died. He was 89.
North Carolina runner Molly Born won the USA Track & Field (USATF) women’s half marathon championship by a slim margin of just over four seconds on Sunday in Atlanta – but the result is only half the story.
It’s now 100 days until the FIFA World Cup is set to begin in North America, and the intensifying war in the Middle East has raised further questions around what is already a controversial tournament.
When American golfer Brooks Koepka left the PGA Tour in 2022, he didn’t seem all that sorry about it.
Arsenal star Bukayo Saka has exclusively told CNN Sports that his side has “the opportunity to make history” after the 24-year-old committed his long-term future to the current Premier League leaders.