Unlucky Xander Schauffele’s Misfortune May Find Solace Through Caddie’s Efforts Despite Augusta Hurdles

The excitement for the Masters is slowly building up in the community. However, it seems Xander Schauffele can’t help but feel worried as he gears up for the year’s first major, all thanks to his recent unlucky finishes on the 2024 PGA Tour calendar, including 6 top-10 finishes without any wins. But it’s not as if there’s no solution. Now, enter his caddie, Austin Kaiser.

Schauffele’s looper, Kaiser, was spotted giving an interview in an episode of the podcast by SiriusXM PGA Tour Radio. Meanwhile, as he did so, the bagman made sure to divulge how he plans on helping his golfer rake in his first win of the year, using the notes he made, despite being faced with a misfortune at the renowned par-5 Pink Dogwood.

Xander Schauffele’s caddie prepares for the Masters Tournament

Schauffele’s caddie, during the talk with Chantel McCabe, disclosed how he has a “collection of 7-years worth of notes and everything” with him. Adding on, he mentioned how the record consists of vital information, including “what greens breaks do,… weird putts that we’ve (sic) had, or lines off tees, or certain layup yardages on par-5, and the angles to have at Augusta,” the last of which makes up 90% of the play at the iconic course.

Interestingly, soon after, he was asked what he had in the notes regarding the par-5, 2nd hole, also known as the Pink Dogwood. “Hopefully I have a lot of layups from the left,” responded the bagman as he added how he has them in case Xander Schauffele does a bad drive down the left. But he quickly pointed out how the greens at the hole had changed as opposed to the previous year; “The green is new this year which kinda threw me off cause now I can’t use any of my old greens’ info that I had the last 3 or 4 years written down, so I kinda have to go out there early and chart some new stuff and figure it out.”

Even so, Kaiser seemed to have it all planned out when it came to the Pink Dogwood, as he said, “You know it’s just really important around here is just kinda having the right leaves on the par-fives where each pin has the best chance at up and down.” Nevertheless, Schauffele’s caddie made sure to convey their aim for the 585-yard challenge, “You actually want a birdie!”

Usually, the downhill par 5 at second has always given the golfers the perfect chance to lower their scores and go under par early on in the tournament. However, the layout of the hole, which is dubbed “one of the easiest,” at Augusta seems to have changed this time around.

The Pink Dogwood gets extended

In a recent change made to the second hole at Augusta, the course officials decided to extend the tee box all the while stretching the hole out to 585 yards. This has been made with the intention of offering a challenge to the players who have recently begun to hit harder and longer.

ALSO READ: Scottie Scheffler’s ‘Boring’ Image Shattered as He Breaks Down Crying at Masters Interview: ‘Selfish Sport’

Moreover, the change has made it the longest hole at the iconic course which hosts the Masters Tournament. Anyhow, regardless of the change, Xander Schauffele will surely be hoping to make the best use of his caddie’s notes to score under par at the newly changed greens.

READ MORE: Is Min Woo Lee’s Broken Finger Fixed? PGA Tour Pro’s ‘Miraculous’ Comeback at the 2024 Masters Explored