Flexin'

Xander Schauffele wearing his gold medal instead of tour credential in Memphis is the boss move of all boss moves

August 03, 2021

In the wee hours of Sunday morning, Xander Schauffele claimed the gold medal in men’s golf at the Tokyo Olympics. For Schauffele, it was a welcome triumph after a major season of almosts and nearlies. For the United States, it meant the gold medal was coming home for the first since 1900. While there was no ticker-tape parade or White House visit (at least not yet), on Tuesday the medal made its first big stop on home soil at the WGC FedEx St. Jude Invitational, where Schauffele pulled off the boss move of all boss moves, stepping to mic rocking his new bling for everyone to see.

As Golf Channel’s Ryan Lavner points out, it’s customary for players to wear their PGA Tour credentials around each tournament so as not to be misidentified by security. Schauffele, however, figured his Olympic gold was credential enough. He was right.

Still, it's a subtle flex from the soft-spoken Schauffele. Rickie Fowler finished T37 at the 2016 Olympics in Rio and came back with a tattoo that got ten times more play than Schauffele’s medallion ever will. But the medal’s appearance will certainly resonate around the locker room. Masters winners don’t show up to the PGA Championship in their green jackets. The Champion Golfer of the Year doesn’t lug the claret jug to Augusta National each year. And yet here Schauffele is, barely 48 hours removed from his Olympic triumph, wearing it like a literal badge of honor. Sure beats some cruddy lanyard if you ask us.

As for everyone else in the field? Well, let’s hope they’re taking notes. If you’re going to run your mouth like you’re the baddest dude on tour every week, you better have the (recent) hardware to back it up.