YOKOHAMA, Japan \u2014 This may not have been Xander Schauffele\u2019s most prestigious tournament victory, but it should be the American\u2019s most memorable.<\/p>\n
Schauffele\u2019s shot a 7-under 64 on Sunday to win the Baycurrent Classic in Japan \u2014 a country where his mother grew up and where he has many connections.<\/p>\n
Schauffele, who shot 19-under 265 over four rounds at the Yokohama Country Club, finished one shot ahead of American Max Greyserman, who was also the runner-up at this event a year ago as he chases his first PGA Tour title.<\/p>\n
Schauffele has maternal grandparents living in Japan and his mother has roots in Taiwan and grew up in Japan. His mother-in-law is also Japanese, and his wife is half Japanese and grew up in Japan\u2019s southern island of Okinawa.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been coming here since I was about 9 years old to visit my grandparents,\u201d Schauffele said. \u201cI sort of fell in love with this country a long time ago. I can\u2019t wait to bring my son here when he\u2019s old enough to sort of understand and appreciate the culture here in Japan.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, the ties run deep for the Schauffele family here in Japan,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Schauffele and his wife Maya became parents just over a month ago with the birth of a son.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s still kind of fresh, but it\u2019s definitely a cool thing being a dad and I\u2019m so excited to go home to him and Maya after this,\u201d Schauffele said.<\/p>\n
Schauffele was cheered during the tournament by family members who attended, including his 81-year-old grandmother who walked the course with him. He said there would probably be a \u201cget-together\u201d with family members later to celebrate.<\/p>\n
\u201cI mean, I don\u2019t get to see them very often and they\u2019ve always been gracious with their time to come out wherever the event was,\u201d he said. \u201cThey\u2019ve been awesome to me and this is pretty cool. I\u2019ve really wanted to share a win with them, so can\u2019t wait to get together with them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Greyserman closed with a 65 and held or shared the lead through the first three rounds. Michael Thorbjornsen finished with a 64 and was three strokes behind the winner.<\/p>\n