Xander Schauffele Reveals Nail Biting Moment With Caddie at Valhalla Days After PGA Championship Win

The historic 2024 PGA Championship, saw Xander Schauffele capture his first-ever major triumph. Out-muscling Bryson DeChambeau on R4-Sunday with the lowest score in major history. Schauffele’s victory at the PGA Championship was nothing short of spectacular. He ended a two-year victory drought by delivering a nail-biting performance.

The reigning Olympic champion shot a six-under-par 65 in the final round. Ultimately, finishing 72 holes on 21-under 263. However, in a recent interview, he shared an intense moment with his caddie, Austin Kaiser, during a particularly challenging round at Valhalla. He shed light on the incident that led to the pro and his caddie’s reflection on their dynamics. Let us follow what the 2024 PGA champion has to say.

Xander Schauffele’s Crucial moment at the PGA Championship (Valhalla) 

Xander Schauffele reflected on his experience playing the 10th hole on Sunday. Before that, he had scored a 4-under par 35. However, the 10th hole proved challenging, resulting in a bogey on the par 5. This caused him to drop his position by one point on the leaderboard. With the atmosphere intensifying and pressure mounting, the bond between the pair was put to the test.

When questioned about whether this hiccup led to some pump-up talk, or how the pair handled that moment, Schauffele, “Yeah, we’re beyond that. I mean, I told I told I mean, I’m usually the one who has to calm Austin down here. And I mean, it’s rare for a player to have to calm his caddy down in tough moments. But I have to do that. It’s like a bit of a double role for me, but I’m just kidding,” he puts it with a chuckle. 

Xander Schauffele further states, “I put my arm around Austin at some point, like on the front line will be closed up and or maybe not my arm around it, but I was like, let’s get to 22. So I told him, You know, I was like, let’s get a 39 I felt pretty good. And I was like, let’s get to 22 like I think 22 is going to be enough. And I just wanted to keep pushing for. Like I knew I was willing to look at the board but I knew I needed to set my own goal because I needed to keep pushing forward and not react to what everyone else was doing.” The bond between the golfer and his caddie was visible, understanding the mental and emotional challenges they faced together on the course. 

Relationship between 2024 PGA champion and caddie Austin Kaiser

Austin Kaiser is deeply dedicated to his role as Schauffele’s caddie. The pair have a history of more than 10 years as friends. And on caddying duties from the past five or six years. Both were teammates in college and paired up on the PGA Tour. Above all, it speaks to a bond that goes beyond the typical player-caddie dynamic.

Austin’s dedication is reflected by his comments, “I told him many times, I don’t think I’d work for anyone else. If Xander fired me and Tiger or any of those guys came up to me, I wouldn’t caddie for anybody else. Because I don’t have that emotional attachment.” Kaiser said to the San Diego Union-Tribune.

As Xander Schauffele and Kaiser cherish their recent experiences, their focus now shifts to the upcoming tournaments. With his recent success, Schauffele threatens to be a formidable competitor in the majors to come, and his partnership with Kaiser will be looked upon. What are your thoughts on the pair? Tell us in the comments.