First things first, we love Xander Schauffele. He’s a great player, he’s a funny guy, and he even gave me some good golf tips once. When it comes to doing online ads, though, well, he could use a little work.
To be fair, reading promos is brutal. I know from having to do some for our podcasts. So there’s only so much Xander can do with the material his sponsors—in this case, DraftKings—give him. But his latest effort was particularly subpar. And Golf Twitter roasted the seven-time PGA Tour winner. Have a look for yourself:
Thanks to my partners at @draftkings there are no shortage of ways to get in on the action! Enter a no-fee @DKReignmakers PGA TOUR contest and compete for huge prizes!
Head over to @DK_Marketplace to build your collection and get in the game! https://t.co/Yrc3VOcBwA #DKPartner pic.twitter.com/GmEISugBsJ
— Xander Schauffele (@XSchauffele) September 7, 2023
That’s hostage-video stuff right there. And they probably told him wearing a T-shirt as he read a bland script about a fantasy golf competition would keep things casual, but it didn’t help. The coffee mug was a nice touch, though! Anyway, apologies to Xander, but here were some of our favorite reactions:
Draft Kings: Xander, we absolutely love it. Basically perfect, no notes. Just wondering if you can do one more read for us, just to give us a second option for the suits, where you go way, way faster. https://t.co/Gse61virjz
— Shane Ryan (Trustworthy) (@ShaneRyanHere) September 8, 2023
What a natural. 👏 https://t.co/zcTeoHK9rX
— Lewis Fraser (@lewisfras98) September 8, 2023
Me reciting “To be, or not to be” in front of my entire English class as quickly as humanly possible while trying not to have a panic attack my senior year of high school
pic.twitter.com/04O7OUvsev— claire rogers (@kclairerogers) September 8, 2023
AI is fantastic
— Bros and Birdies (@BirdiesBro) September 8, 2023
Blink twice if you need rescued.
— Tim Essig (@TimEsUp16) September 8, 2023
I believe the Xander-DraftKings insta video has eclipsed this one as the best golf video of all time pic.twitter.com/YEoY8gcQig
— Shane Bacon (@shanebacon) September 7, 2023
put this in a museum
— Matt Gannon (@matt_gannon_) September 8, 2023
Tough crowd. HOWEVAH, if the goal is to actually get people to watch, remember and talk about this, then in a weird way Xander did an amazing job. Maybe he’s playing chess while everyone is playing checkers. If so, brilliant.
This article was originally published on golfdigest.com
