Xander Schauffele, en route to Open win, stops for 1 of the sincerest gestures
Xander Schauffele and caddie Austin Kaiser on Royal Troon's 18th hole on Sunday.
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Xander Schauffele says he told his caddie he felt calm. Collected. Then Austin Kaiser told his pro how he was feeling late Sunday afternoon standing on Royal Troon’s 18 tee.
“He said he was about to puke,” Schauffele said on national TV.
Gross. But lovely. It’s telling. This is the kinda stuff they share. Schauffele–Kaiser are golfer and looper — and Xander and Austin are friends. Besties. They played college golf together, at San Diego State, and Kaiser eventually got a call from Schauffele’s dad, Stefan. Would he be interested in caddying for his son? Totally. Kaiser was in.
And there they were this week, at Troon, for the Open Championship, where Schauffele shot a two-under 69 in round one, a 72 in round two and another 69 in round three — before blitzing everyone over the final 18. He birdied 6 and 7. And 11. And 13 and 14. And 16. No one was catching him. He was going to win the Claret Jug.
He was going to get one of golf’s coolest moments first, though. Open fans love their champions, and here’s how things go on 18: Players walk up to the green, the faithful around it rise, they cheer, it’s soaked in. You’ve maybe seen it. You’ve perhaps dreamed of being in the arena. Schauffele did. And after his second shot into Troon’s 18th, he started his march.
Kaiser handed him his putter, and Schauffele gave Kaiser the iron he’d just struck. They took four steps. Kaiser put down the bag. Schauffele tossed him the putter cover, and he took about 30 more steps. Hands were starting to be struck together. The clapping was beginning.
Wait. Wait, wait, wait. Schauffele turned around.
Where was Kaiser? He was still back with the bag.
Schauffele stayed turned around. He slowly walked backward until Kaiser caught up.
They would walk up together, of course. Schauffele soon turned back around. A smile had formed. Kaiser got over to his left. It was a scene not unlike the one that unfolded at this year’s Masters, where winner Scottie Scheffler started his walk to scoring after winning, only to wait for caddie Ted Scott to join him, so he, too, could feel the love.
At Troon, Schauffele and Kaiser took it in. For about 50 steps, they looked around. Near the bunkers near the green, Kaiser said something to Schauffele. He then smiled and put his right hand on Schauffele’s left shoulder. Schauffele eventually took his hat off and saluted the masses.
The TV analysts loved it.
Said announcer Dan Hicks on NBC: “Is he waiting for Austin here?”
Said analyst Luke Donald: “Waiting for Austin. … Cool move.”
Said Hicks: “They’re a team. He’s like, you’re not going to back off in the background. Let’s take this walk together.”
Said Donald: “Stride for stride and that’s a great team.”
There was still work left, though, and Schauffele and Kaiser measured a 20-footer — Kaiser stands in back of Schauffele typically on reads — before Schauffele two-putted for par. Now, he was done. His first hug was for his caddie. As they watched playing partner Justin Rose finish up, Schauffele stood with his right arm around Kaiser.
Then SkySports wanted to know about nerves — and Schauffele spilled the beans about Kaiser and puking.
One more TV interview.
Here, NBC’s Mike Tirico asked Schauffele about Kaiser.
“You mentioned Austin, your caddie,” Tirico said on TV. “I saw you wait to walk up 18 with him, which is illustrative of the tremendous partnership. What does he mean to you not just as golfer-caddie, but as a person and a friend, as well?”
Xander Schauffele wins Open Championship, claims second major title
“Yeah, he’s been one of my best friends for quite some time,” Schauffele said. “It’s always hard when you’re working together. But I feel very lucky to have someone as close as Austin and someone as loyal as Austin. I just wanted to wait for him, you know. You watch it on TV. The fans here surrounding, the yellow boards.
“Coming up 18, they give you a standing ovation, and I wanted Austin to feel that as well because it’s ours.”
The press corps were curious, too.
“Speaking of that walk up 18,” a reporter said, “I noticed that you waited for Austin to kind of make that walk with you. Why did you do that?”
“Pretty obvious,” Schauffele said. “I mean, Austin, he’s one of my best friends, but it’s a team thing. I’m the one hitting the shots, but at the end of the day, it’s a team thing. It’s a team environment that I like to have for my team, I guess.
“I was marching, and I was sitting there, and I was just trying to focus, and I sort of looked up, and I saw yellow leaderboards. In my head, I was like, you’re about to have your moment here. No one better to share it than Austin because he deserves it as well.”
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