Schauffele has no regrets on tee shot that ended chances

Xander Schauffele doesn't have any regrets about the tee shot he hit into the water on No. 16 that led to a crushing triple-bogey and ultimately ended his hopes of winning the green jacket.

"I fought hard," Schauffele said of his Sunday effort. "I felt like I made it exciting at the end, hit a really good shot on 16. I committed to it. I hit a perfect shot. We thought (the wind) was down left to right. It was not down left to right, and the rest is history."

Schauffele, who started the day trailing Hideki Matsuyama by four, got off to a poor start. He played his first five holes at 3-over and was faced with an uphill battle from then on.

But a remarkable 6-under stretch from hole 7 to 15 put the 27-year-old only two behind Matsuyama with three to play.

The rare miscue off the tee on the easiest par 3 at Augusta National led to Schauffele's first triple-bogey in 1,042 major championship holes.

"It's another lesson to put in the memory bank. 2019, I had a rookie hiccup moment of, oh, my goodness, I'm leading the Masters. This year I was chasing. I'm playing better than I was in 2019, and I made a mistake on shot selection and wind."

Schauffele has become a staple at major championships so far in his career. He's competed in 15 total with eight top-10s and four top-threes and hopes his time will eventually come.

"Moving forward, just kind of throw it in the memory bank. I'm going to keep collecting thoughts. Hopefully, I keep coming back here for years to come, and the goal is to win one day."