My photo by the toilet sums up my season - Open champion Schauffele

Schauffele finished inside the top 25 in 20 of the 22 events he played in 2024

Huge portraits of Open champion Xander Schauffele were omnipresent at the Renaissance Club, home of the Scottish Open, a year ago.

Then, the 31-year-old American was returning as a previous titleholder; he was also the recently crowned US PGA champion and a week away from taking his second major by lifting the Claret Jug at Royal Troon.

Twelve months on and it is all a bit a different. Schauffele's picture adorns the entrance to the gents loos in the media centre.

This downgrade reflects a worrying reversal of fortune for a player about to defend the sport's most historic title.

And the humble siting of his mugshot did not go unnoticed by the world number three when he arrived to talk to reporters about a season that he admits has become "a battle" that "drives me nuts".

In 2024 Schauffele was the most likely candidate to topple Scottie Scheffler from the top of the world rankings. His technique was so honed and sound, he could see a target and hit his ball there with minimal thought.

Golf was a simple pursuit.

However, a rib injury cost him the first few weeks of the 2025 season and since returning the game has been anything but easy. His name has barely featured on a leaderboard with only one top-10 all year.

"It was nice to see my photo out by the toilet," he joked. "That was heartwarming. It summed up how I feel about what's going on right now."

At least he could laugh about it, but this decline amounts to the first sustained setback of an otherwise stellar career. He celebrated Olympic gold in 2021 and has nine PGA Tour victories to his name.

He tore an intercostal muscle at the start of the year and trying to rediscover the action that brought so much success has been frustratingly elusive. The path of his swing has been inconsistent and "bad habits" crept in.

"The way I was moving the club last year was still new, and the bad place I got the club to this year was new," Schauffele explained.

"I've hit a lot of bad shots from a certain place but it was home for me. I've been playing from that, call it short and laid off and shut."

He is looking at videos of how he was swinging last year, but getting that feeling back and executing it is not straightforward. One erroneous move can prompt another and it takes quite a bit of untangling, even for the world's best.

In Schauffele's case, this has led to second guessing and tinkering and that is not a malaise any golfer needs when readying for an imminent Open defence.

"What would make me really happy is that I can just play freely," he said. "I think the obstacles of trying to play really good golf and then playing bad golf and then just fiddling all day long is really what drives me nuts.

"It's why we love the game but it's what's driving me crazy. So if I can just get out of my own way, that would be the thing that would make me happiest right now, more than even winning a tournament."

'I'm trying to feel something other than upset'

Remarkably throughout this period, Schauffele's proud reputation for avoiding missed cuts remains intact. He is now 67 tournaments without being absent for a weekend, which is by far the best record among active players.

It is also worth noting that his best performances have come in the biggest tournaments. His one top-10 was finishing tied eighth at the Masters and he shared 12th place at the US Open last month.

But he remains brutally downbeat about the state of his game. "It's just bad across the board," he admitted.

So as he seeks a second Genesis Scottish Open title, his goals this week are relatively modest for a golfer of his standing. "I'm trying to get into some sort of contention; to try and feel something again, other than upset," Schauffele said.

"I think I've just been angry-ish. The biggest emotion of this is frustrating, versus why we love playing to be in contention and kind of see what you can do.

"But that part's been humbling. So you know, it's a battle, and I'm going to try and win it. Small victories is where I'm battling.

"If we can move my photo away from the toilet it would be awesome. I'm just kidding," he smiled.

But with The Open at Royal Portrush just around the corner, he finished with a more serious message, summing up the state of his mindset ahead of the year's final major.

"If I can play 72 holes without fiddling with my golf swing this week, that would be a massive win, and wherever I finish, I finish," he said.

"That would be a good place for me to get to before I play next week."