Xander Schauffele’s wife, Maya Lowe, had a surreal moment after the American pro won his first major at the PGA Championship in Louisville, Ky., on Sunday.
Lowe, who is a photographer, couldn’t contain her emotions while posing with Schauffele and the Wanamaker Trophy on the course at Valhalla Golf Club.
“I’m sorry, I’m blacking out,” Lowe told The Athletic, which said her voice was shaking and it appeared that she was getting teary-eyed under her tinted black sunglasses. “This means everything. Everything that he has worked hard for, it just goes to show that you’ll see results if you put in the work. He deserves it more than anything.
“Why do I say that? I’ve seen the dedication, the work that he puts in, the hours. Even during off weeks, there’s never an off week; they’re constantly practicing. The grind never stops.”
Schauffele outlasted Bryson DeChambeau and hit a tough birdie putt on the 18th hole to win by a single stroke.
Lowe explained that Schauffele had a “chip on his shoulder” entering the PGA Championship — which came after the 30-year-old blew a one-stroke lead and lost by five at the Wells Fargo Championship the week prior.
“I’m sure that chip that was on his shoulder is gone, oh, my goodness,” Lowe said before taking a pause to compose herself. “I’m really quite emotional. I think what this means to him is that this is exactly what he’s meant to do — to play golf at this level. He’s doing what he loves.”
After another pause, Lowe said, “I’m sorry, I’m blacking out right now.”
Lowe also supported Schauffele at the 2023 Ryder Cup in Italy, as seen in photos of the couple posing on The Spanish Steps in Rome with the other pros and their significant others.
The college sweethearts tied the knot at their home in Las Vegas in July 2021, nearly six months after Schauffele proposed in Maui, Hawaii.
They share two dogs together: Chewie and Momo.
“It’s been a long time coming,” Schauffele said in a press conference after making his first start as a married man at the Scottish Open that year. “We’ve been together for quite some time and decided to make it public. We’re very happy.”
Schauffele and Lowe reportedly met when he attended San Diego State University in 2014.
The pair had been together for a year in March 2015, according to a post Schauffele shared on Instagram at the time.
