Xander Schauffele Reveals Caddie Told Him He 'Was About To Puke' On 18th On Way To Open Win
The Open champion has admitted his caddie Austin Kaiser was struggling to keep it together as Schauffele closed in on the Claret Jug
![Xander Schauffele offers congratulations to caddie Austin Kaiser at The Open](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/mUYQEyLzm2ovXDWvKUkE3f-415-80.jpg)
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.”
Xander Schauffele won the Claret Jug after an assured round of 65 on Sunday
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.
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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.
Mike has over 25 years of experience in journalism, including writing on a range of sports throughout that time, such as golf, football and cricket. Now a freelance staff writer for Golf Monthly, he is dedicated to covering the game's most newsworthy stories.
He has written hundreds of articles on the game, from features offering insights into how members of the public can play some of the world's most revered courses, to breaking news stories affecting everything from the PGA Tour and LIV Golf to developmental Tours and the amateur game.
Mike grew up in East Yorkshire and began his career in journalism in 1997. He then moved to London in 2003 as his career flourished, and nowadays resides in New Brunswick, Canada, where he and his wife raise their young family less than a mile from his local course.
Kevin Cook’s acclaimed 2007 biography, Tommy’s Honour, about golf’s founding father and son, remains one of his all-time favourite sports books.
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