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Anyone who’s familiar with Michael Jordan knows the last thing you want to do is give him some extra motivation to beat you, and Xander Schauffele learned that’s the case the hard way after getting a bit too cocky when they were playing a round of golf together.
Michael Jordan is known for the ruthlessly competitive spirit that helped him become one of the best basketball players (if not the best) of all time, and there are plenty of tales about him getting into the heads of his opponents with the help of some vicious trash talk.
If you watched The Last Dance, you’re probably aware the biggest mistake you could make when playing against His Airness was doing anything he perceived as disrespectful, as the documentary series is teeming with anecdotes about situations where he dug particularly deep out of pure, unadulterated spite.
Jordan is primarily known for his skills on the court, but he’s also an incredibly talented golfer with a reported handicap of 1.3. That’s certainly nothing to scoff at, but it would still put him at a disadvantage against virtually every single player on the PGA Tour.
That includes Xander Schauffele, who was recently filmed chatting with Colt Knost about the round of golf he played with Jordan (which sounds like it took place at MJ’s wildly exclusive Grove XXIII in Florida).
Michael Jordan recently beat @XSchauffele straight up 😳 @ColtKnost pic.twitter.com/gIZRzGhxaa
— Golf on CBS ⛳ (@GolfonCBS) June 10, 2024
The man who only trails Scottie Scheffler in the Official World Golf Ranking says he was holding his own while spotting Jordan strokes for most of the round before his decision to chirp his opponent backfired, saying:
“I did my best version of [trash talk] and then he beat me straight up, which is embarrassing. In the last three holes.
I pancaked him on his stroke holes and started talking s— to him. He got all quiet, focused, and then he birdied 15, 16. No strokes. Beat me straight up.”
Lesson learned.