Open champion Xander Schuaffele has admitted he was “calm” during the closing holes of his second Major victory of the year, although the same couldn’t be said for his caddie, Austin Kaiser.
Schauffele followed up victory at May’s PGA Championship with the win at Royal Troon helped by an assured 65 in the final round to leave him on nine under for the tournament, two ahead of runners-up Justin Rose and Billy Horschel, and he revealed that his win at Valhalla, where he edged out Bryson DeChambeau for his maiden Major title, had helped settle his nerves as he closed in on the title in Scotland.
Speaking to Sky Sports after coming off the 18th green following his win, he said: “I thought it would help me and it actually did. I had this sense of calm, a calm I didn’t have when I played earlier at the PGA and for some reason I was calm and I felt collected.”
While Shauffele was taking the occasion in his stride, it was a different story for Kaiser. He continued: “I was telling Austin, my caddie, on the 18th hole that I felt pretty calm coming down the stretch and he said he was about to puke on the 18th! I just tell myself to hit it down there like I have all day and really just kept moving along.”
As for what claiming the Claret Jug for the first time meant to him, Schauffele admitted it was a “dream come true.” He said: “It means a lot. It’s something all of us play for and it really is a dream come true to be holding this and it definitely hasn’t sunk in yet. My brain is still grinding on this amazing property here and just tried to get through the holes, so I can’t wait to sit back and have a moment with this Claret Jug.”
Schauffele’s performance in the final round certainly suggested nerves weren’t coming into play. The American produced six birdies in a bogey-free round to emerge on top of what had been a congested leaderboard heading into Sunday’s play, where Billy Horschel held a one-shot lead, with 11 others – including Schauffele – within four shots of him.
Schauffele’s performance handed him a winner’s check for $3.1m, of which Kaiser will claim around $310,000 to add to the approximately $330,000 he will have earned at the PGA Championship.
When Kaiser's nerves have settled, attention will surely turn to Schauffele's next high-profile appearance. He will represent the US as he looks to bag his second successive gold medal at the Olympics, with the tournament beginning on 1 August.
