TROON, Scotland—Xander Schauffele can typically come throughout as Jeff Spicoli with a greater brief recreation, only a tremendous mellow Southern California dude who seems to be perennially blissed-out. However don’t let Schauffele’s sunny vibes idiot you: bro is a cold-blooded killer.
On Sunday on the 152nd Open Championship, on the tail finish of a brutal climate week that crushed the spirits and frayed the nerves of one of the best gamers on the planet, Schauffele produced a spherical for the ages. Together with his frazzled pursuers all retreating on the again 9, Schauffele pulled off a sequence of fearless photographs and clutch putts to roar dwelling in 31 for a two-stroke victory that didn’t really feel that shut. His bogeyless 65, one of the best rating of the day by two strokes, will go down as one of many biggest last rounds within the historical past of this historic championship, alongside Hogan’s 68 at Carnoustie, Lawrie’s 67 at Carnoustie, Mickelson’s 66 at Muirfield, Watson’s 65 at Turnberry, Ballesteros’ 65 at Lytham, Norman’s 64 at St. George’s, Cam Smith’s 64 at St Andrews and Stenson’s 63 at Troon.
“Greatest spherical I’ve ever performed,” Schauffele mentioned.
Justin Rose’s caddie Mark Futcher, in his fourth decade as knowledgeable caddie, mentioned he had by no means witnessed a finer efficiency. “Whenever you see a spherical that good you’re taking your hat off,” sighed Fooch. “He didn’t put a foot unsuitable. It was good to have the ability to watch it and never have to purchase a ticket as a result of it was improbable.”
Schauffele, 30, has been a glittering prospect since at the least 2021 when he received the gold medal on the Tokyo Olympics. However even because the PGA Tour wins piled up—seven on the outset of the 2024 season—there have been whispers that perhaps he was too good to win the massive one. In any case, essentially the most adorned champions of the previous few many years have tended to be imply cusses like Nick Faldo, Brooks Koepka or Vijay Singh, or radiate seething depth a la Tiger Woods and Angel Cabrera.
Surprisingly, Schauffele’s breakthrough win two months in the past on the PGA Championship didn’t absolutely fulfill the cynics within the press room and on Twitter. Valhalla was a cupcake and the ensuing birdiefest made it really feel like a mid-level Tour occasion. The goalposts shifted and the query turned: did Xander have the fortitude to win an actual main, a gritty grindfest in punishing circumstances on a big-time course? The depraved climate of the second and third rounds of this Open made Royal Troon the final word check. Many would-be contenders skulked off the course on Saturday night time bitching in regards to the course setup or their tee time draw; Schauffele was the one one grinning. In a window into his greatness, he mentioned, “I’m fortunate. I like enjoying golf, and I like my job, and I like enjoying over right here. For me it’s all enjoyable, and I simply attempt to have as a lot enjoyable as doable even on a day like as we speak.”
His relentless cheerfulness is maybe the sport’s most underrated weapon. Schauffele says it’s been “a very long time” since he let himself change into visibly offended on the golf course. Earlier in his profession he ran some numbers on his scores when he succumbed to flashes of anger and he realized he was costing himself photographs. “My errors saved compounding,” he says. So now, “It’s all in regards to the subsequent shot,” he says. “I do know it’s cliche and other people attempt to speak about it, however you actually could make your self completely happy when you attempt to hit a superb shot as your subsequent one versus simply snowballing the unsuitable method.” A corollary to that is that Schauffele purposely avoids any large shows of emotion. “I understand how I have to be to carry out at a excessive stage,” he says. “The identical method I don’t get actually offended, I additionally don’t let myself get too over the moon. If I’m sitting there snapping a membership, that might be the identical as me working round fist-pumping. It might take too lengthy for me to regulate earlier than my subsequent shot to hit a superb one.”
“You’d nearly like him to be a little bit of a wanker however he actually couldn’t be nicer.”
Mark Fulcher
However whilst Schauffele la-di-da’s his method to birdies, he’s not completely fooling the competitors. “He has an interior fireplace that burns actually scorching,” says Billy Horschel, who had a share of the lead as late on the seventh gap however bogeyed Nos. 8 and 10 to get run over by Schauffele. “He needs to be nice. He’s not afraid of the second. I do know he had some shut possibilities over time and issues didn’t go his method however he didn’t again away—he realized how one can combat more durable. Now we’re seeing that killer mentality come out, regardless that he by no means stops smiling.”
Provides Adam Scott, who tied for tenth, “He provides off that cool persona for positive, and I believe that’s a superb lesson (for different gamers). However I wouldn’t say he doesn’t work exhausting on the recreation. I believe he works extremely exhausting at it. Xander is fairly cruisy. However while you’re actually ready I believe that’s how one can be while you’re enjoying. I believe he’s being himself. That’s why he’s getting good outcomes.”
That’s an understatement—Schauffele is the primary participant since Koepka in 2018 to win two main championships in a season. Xander mentioned within the champion’s press convention that his longstanding purpose is to attain the profession Grand Slam and abruptly he appears extra more likely to get there than two contemporaries who’ve lengthy overshadowed him, Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas.
What makes Schauffele so harmful is that he doesn’t have a weak point; within the Tour’s stroke gained stats he’s presently fifth in strategy play, tenth in placing and twelfth off the tee. “He has a number of horsepower, are you aware what I imply?” says Rose, who bogeyed the twelfth gap to fall out of a tie with Schauffele after which watched his enjoying accomplice birdie 13, 14 and 16. “Within the sense of he’s good with a wedge, he’s nice with a putter, he hits the ball a great distance, clearly his iron play is robust. So he’s bought a number of weapons on the market… He’s bought a number of runway forward and a number of thrilling stuff forward, I’m positive.”
Round his native San Diego, Schauffele is beloved for supporting animal charities—his solely actual social media presence is cuddling the household canine on his spouse’s Instagram—and for headlining an annual fundraiser to assist Goat Hill Park. Good man wins. “You’d nearly like him to be a little bit of a wanker however he actually couldn’t be nicer,” says Futcher. “He’s a stunning fellow.”
That’s one method to describe Schauffele. After his thrilling efficiency at Troon, right here’s one other: champion golfer of the 12 months.
High Photograph Caption: Xander Schauffele is the seventh American main victor in a row. It’s the longest streak since 1974-1977 when 13 consecutive majors have been received by People. (GETTY IMAGES/Harry How)
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