After eight weeks out with injury, Xander Schauffele could hardly have picked a harder spot to return than at a windy Bay Hill for the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
And the World No.3 admitted he "got my a** kicked" during a five-over round of 77 at Bay Hill on his return from a rib injury.
Schauffele was far from the only one to struggle on a tough first day at the Arnold Palmer, and he definitely felt some rust with five bogeys in a row around the turn.
That's tough to take for the double Major winner of last year, but he expected it to be a tough place to make his return, and he took it well with a smile on his face as he discussed his round.
"Yeah, it was, you know, got my a** kicked," smiled Schauffele. "Yeah, it's a tough place to come back to, not going to lie.
"Palm Springs would have been nice, something like that, that would have been a little bit easier, miss a couple, get a way with it."
Schauffele says that the setup at Bay Hill, especially on the greens, was similar to a Major so could hardly have been a tougher place to make his comeback.
"I'm a bit of a masochist I guess. I knew I was going to come in on short notice to what is sort of like a Major championship setup around the greens, and with the greens being crusty, I really felt it there more than anything else."
"I got my ass kicked."Xander Schauffele didn’t hold back in his post-round press conference. He finished 5-over in his first round back from injury. pic.twitter.com/twsPRKu5UPMarch 6, 2025
A plus point for Schauffele was that after his first competitive round back his rib injury did not bother him, and physically he felt "great" as he starts his build-up to The Masters where he could claim a third Major victory.
Golf-wise, Schauffele admitted that conditions got the better of him early on, especially on the greens, but he did see signs of improvement when the wind dropped.
"Just not really seeing lines, not playing enough break, not giving enough respect to certain holes," Schauffele said of his putting.
"Tried hard to prepare, but it really - as the wind laid down I was hitting some nice shots and, you know, that's what I was more used to."
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