TROON, Scotland—Xander Schauffele can usually come throughout as Jeff Spicoli with a greater quick sport, 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 the very 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 residence in 31 for a two-stroke victory that didn’t really feel that shut. His bogeyless 65, the very best rating of the day by two strokes, will go down as one of many biggest remaining 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 stated.
Justin Rose’s caddie Mark Futcher, in his fourth decade as an expert caddie, stated he had by no means witnessed a finer efficiency. “Whenever you see a spherical that good you are taking your hat off,” sighed Fooch. “He didn’t put a foot incorrect. It was good to have the ability to watch it and never have to purchase a ticket as a result of it was unbelievable.”
Schauffele, 30, has been a glittering prospect since not less than 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, probably the most adorned champions of the previous couple of a long time 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 a actual main, a gritty grindfest in punishing situations on a big-time course? The depraved climate of the second and third rounds of this Open made Royal Troon the final word take a look at. Many would-be contenders skulked off the course on Saturday night time bitching concerning the course setup or their tee time draw; Schauffele was the one one grinning. In a window into his greatness, he stated, “I’m fortunate. I really like taking part in golf, and I really like my job, and I really like taking part in over right here. For me it’s all enjoyable, and I simply attempt to have as a lot enjoyable as potential even on a day like at the moment.”
His relentless cheerfulness is maybe the sport’s most underrated weapon. Schauffele says it’s been “a very long time” since he let himself grow to be 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 stored compounding,” he says. So now, “It’s all concerning the subsequent shot,” he says. “I do know it’s cliche and folks attempt to speak about it, however you actually could make your self completely satisfied should you attempt to hit a superb shot as your subsequent one versus simply snowballing the incorrect approach.” A corollary to that is that Schauffele purposely avoids any massive shows of emotion. “I understand how I have to be to carry out at a excessive stage,” he says. “The identical approach 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 will be the identical as me operating round fist-pumping. It could 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 at the same time as Schauffele la-di-da’s his strategy to birdies, he’s not fully fooling the competitors. “He has an interior fireplace that burns actually sizzling,” 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 approach however he didn’t again away—he discovered the right way to battle 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 offers off that cool persona for positive, and I feel that’s a superb lesson (for different gamers). However I wouldn’t say he doesn’t work exhausting on the sport. I feel he works extremely exhausting at it. Xander is fairly cruisy. However if you’re actually ready I feel that’s how one can be if you’re taking part in. I feel 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 stated within the champion’s press convention that his longstanding purpose is to realize the profession Grand Slam and all of a sudden he appears extra prone 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 numerous 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 taking part in companion 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 good distance, clearly his iron play is robust. So he’s bought numerous weapons on the market… He’s bought numerous runway forward and numerous 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 canines 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 strategy to describe Schauffele. After his thrilling efficiency at Troon, right here’s one other: champion golfer of the yr.
High Picture Caption: Xander Schauffele is the seventh American main victor in a row. It’s the longest streak since 1974-1977 when 13 consecutive majors had been received by Individuals. (GETTY IMAGES/Harry How)
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