Xander Schauffele, the 2024 golf star who has won both the PGA Championship and the British Open, spoke candidly about his performance at the Paris Olympics, saying his ninth-place finish was a disappointment, especially since his good friend and rival Scottie Scheffler won the gold medal.

“It was bad,” Schauffele said Tuesday, his words cutting across a reporter’s attempt to address the issue in a friendly manner.

“I’m not going to lie. It’s the weirdest feeling. I was watching from kind of the family area, the podium, and when Scottie was up there and our flag was raised, he started crying up there, and I was mad about my own lap.”

The FedEx St. Jude Championship at TPC Southwind begins Thursday at TPC Southwind, and Schauffele and Scheffler will play together. Schauffele and Scheffler tee off at 12:45 p.m. Thursday and 9:35 a.m. Friday.

Looking back on this undoubtedly successful season, Schauffele talked about the mark this season has left on him.

“I’m stubborn. My team would be the first to tell you that,” Schauffele said. “They ask me how I’m doing, and I always get the answer, ‘I’m fine.’ I pride myself on finishing strong, and that made me pretty depressed. I thought I could win gold, then maybe silver, then bronze, but now I’m just a spectator.”

Schauffele, gold medalist at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, also addressed the stark contrast between the Olympic and PGA Games.

“Coming back to play on the PGA Tour is just different,” Schauffele said. “It’s a different pace, a different crowd. There’s not that kind of patriotism attached to it, and it almost brings everyone back to their individual feeling.”

The COVID-19 pandemic destroyed the fan experience in Tokyo, a loss that players felt keenly. But the enthusiastic response from fans at the Paris Olympics offered a silver lining: a moment of connection that Schauffele and his fellow golfers enjoyed.

“It was an incredible feeling in France. We stood on the first tee with Rory (McIlroy) and JT (Justin Thomas), looked around and it felt like a big championship,” said Schauffele. “There were 9, 10, 12 rows on the first tee.”

You can reach the author Joshua Crawford by email at @[email protected] or via X at @JCrawford5656

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Xander Schauffele was ‘pissed off’ with his performance at the Paris Olympics