TROON, Scotland—Xander Schauffele can usually come throughout as Jeff Spicoli with a greater brief 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 one of the best gamers on the earth, Schauffele produced a spherical for the ages. Together with his frazzled pursuers all retreating on the again 9, Schauffele pulled off a collection of fearless pictures 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 best remaining rounds within the historical past of this historical 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.
“Finest spherical I’ve ever performed,” Schauffele mentioned.
Justin Rose’s caddie Mark Futcher, in his fourth decade as an expert caddie, mentioned he had by no means witnessed a finer efficiency. “Once you see a spherical that good you are taking your hat off,” sighed Fooch. “He didn’t put a foot flawed. 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 large one. In spite of everything, probably the most adorned champions of the previous couple of 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.
Unusually, Schauffele’s breakthrough win two months in the past on the PGA Championship didn’t totally 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 situations on a big-time course? The depraved climate of the second and third rounds of this Open made Royal Troon the last word check. Many would-be contenders skulked off the course on Saturday evening 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 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 this time.”
His relentless cheerfulness is probably 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 pictures. “My errors stored 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 discuss it, however you actually could make your self comfortable in the event you attempt to hit a great shot as your subsequent one versus simply snowballing the flawed approach.” A corollary to that is that Schauffele purposely avoids any huge 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 may 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 great 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 technique to birdies, he isn’t completely fooling the competitors. “He has an inside hearth 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 desires to be nice. He’s not afraid of the second. I do know he had some shut probabilities through the years and issues didn’t go his approach however he didn’t again away—he discovered the right way to combat more durable. Now we’re seeing that killer mentality come out, despite the fact 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 great lesson (for different gamers). However I wouldn’t say he doesn’t work exhausting on the sport. I believe he works extremely exhausting at it. Xander is fairly cruisy. However once you’re actually ready I believe that’s how one can be once you’re taking part in. 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 aim is to realize the profession Grand Slam and all of the 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 spot; within the Tour’s stroke gained stats he’s presently fifth in strategy play, tenth in placing and twelfth off the tee. “He has plenty of horsepower, have you learnt 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 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 powerful. So he’s obtained plenty of weapons on the market… He’s obtained plenty of runway forward and plenty 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 canines on his spouse’s Instagram—and for headlining an annual fundraiser to help 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 technique to describe Schauffele. After his thrilling efficiency at Troon, right here’s one other: champion golfer of the 12 months.
Prime 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 People. (GETTY IMAGES/Harry How)
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