Watch Xander Schauffele take three (!) from a fairway bunker at the US Open

Xander Schauffele had the worst possible start to his third round at the 2023 US Open, taking three shots to get out of a fairway bunker.

Ben Smith

18 Jun 2023

Watch Xander Schauffele take three (!) from a fairway bunker at the US Open

Xander Schauffele, what have you just done?

The golfer got off to the worst possible start in the third round of the 2023 US Open.

X-Man was made to wait an awful long time to begin his round as he was in the penultimate group on Saturday alongside Rory McIlroy.

And how he must wish he could have a do-over. This calamity of errors began with the tee shot on the opening hole at Los Angeles Country Club.

It's a par-5 and, generally speaking, the front nine has played much easier than the back at the 123rd playing of this major.

Schauffele pulled his tee shot left and his golf ball went sailing into the fairway bunker. Fried egg.

He tried to just get himself back into position but sent his second shot straight into the lip of the bunker.

Then he did the same thing again playing his third, but this time, the ball settled back into one of his footprints! Just nightmare stuff.

McIlroy was watching a short distance away having sent his opening drive 388 yards straight down the middle of the fairway.

In the end Schauffele did show his class by managing to escape the hole with just a bogey, stroking home a right-to-left tester to fall back to 7-under.

As for McIlroy, he had an eagle putt to tie the lead at 10-under but left it in the jaws. Still, an easy birdie for the Ulsterman.

Watch the clip here:

A nightmare start for Xander Schauffele as it takes him THREE shots to get out of the bunker pic.twitter.com/h1Td1xIiZm
— Sky Sports Golf (@SkySportsGolf) June 17, 2023