Xander Schauffele “Had Me Take My Shirt Off”: Long-time Caddie’s Dangerous Yet Hilarious Drunken Adventure, Retold

It seems caddies taking off shirts isn’t that strange in the golf world. At first, the Solheim Cup was in the headlines as Allison Lee and Megan Khang’s caddies removed theirs in celebration of the eagle that Lee drained. And now a hysteric tale of Xander Schauffele’s caddie, Austin Kaiser taking his shirt off has come to light.

Kaiser was a guest at Golf’s Subpar podcast with Wyndham Clark’s caddie, John Ellis, in June 2023. There, the San Diego graduate recalled the times when Schauffele made his debut at the AT&T Byron Nelson in 2017 and missed the cut. After the event, the PGA Tour pro decided to hit the range, but Kaiser decided to enjoy the night differently with his other caddie friend. The two of them ended up at a bar that gave $300 bottle service, and after taking 1/5th the Grey Goose, Kaiser was drunk to the core.

He recounted, “Next thing… end up in the middle of a thunderstorm, dumping rain, in a cemetery, doing snow angels.” Eventually, he drunk-dialed his wife, and she tracked down his location and then asked Schauffele if he could safely bring him back. Although they were a relatively new duo, and the 2-time major winner wanted to practice at 7:30 a.m., he still drove to the location around 2:30 a.m.

Kaiser was out of his wits, to say the least, and was doing the most drunk thing he could at the cemetery, which was hugging a tree. After a few minutes, Schauffele honked his car and found Kaiser with mud all over his clothes. The car was obviously destroyed too as it got mud too, and then, “He had me take my shirt off. He has pictures of it,” Kaiser revealed later on.

The looper jokingly said that it was his lowest moment at that time and he feared, “I thought I was going to get fired.” Even the 30-year-old pro agreed in an interview with the Tribune, “I’m pretty sure almost anyone else would have fired him.” But he didn’t, and only two months later, the duo lifted their first PGA Tour trophy at the 2017 The Greenbrier Classic. Although Schauffele rarely shows emotions on the course, off of it, the 9-time PGA Tour can have fun and look at the bright side.

Since then, Kaiser and Schauffele‘s relationship has only grown stronger, so much so that if the PGA Tour pro had fired him then, his caddie career would have dropped that second. We are not saying that; Kaiser revealed it himself.

Xander Schauffele and his caddies’s strong connection

Xander Schauffele and Austin Kaiser have been together since their college time at San Diego State University. When the 2-time major winner turned professional, Kaiser was looking forward to becoming a police officer, but a little persistence from Schauffele pushed him to become his caddie. And since then, they have been together through everything. At the 2016 Tokyo Olympics, Schauffele earned a gold medal, but Kaiser couldn’t have a share as a caddie, so the PGA Tour pro and his family gifted him a gold ring with an Olympic symbol.

In a 2020 interview with the San Diego Union-Tribune, Kaiser talked about how he had the perfect balance of friendship and professionalism with Schauffele and said, “If Xander fired me and Tiger or any of those guys came up to me, I wouldn’t caddie for anybody else.” Furthermore, he added that it would be because he wouldn’t have the same emotional connection with anyone and said, “It’s like being drafted by your favorite team growing up. You can’t get that with anyone else,” adding that he had the best job.

So, it is quite apparent that no amount of drunken adventures is going to split Schauffele from his caddie, and the two are tight as thieves. The two are currently at the Royal Montreal Golf Club and looking to lift the coveted Presidents Cup for the USA Team.