PA Media/DPA
London
Xander Schauffele insists his competitive fire burns “brighter than ever” and has set his sights on joining golf’s most exclusive club following his Open triumph at Royal Troon.
A little over two months after lifting the Wanamaker Trophy at Valhalla following his major breakthrough in the US PGA Championship, Schauffele was holding the Claret Jug aloft to get halfway to a career Grand Slam.
It is a feat so difficult that only five men in history - Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods - have managed it, while Rory McIlroy (Masters), Jordan Spieth (US PGA) and Phil Mickelson (US Open) are the only current players missing one of the four major titles required.
Yet Schauffele’s results in this year’s majors alone suggest the 30-year-old American is well equipped to complete the career slam, having finished eighth in the Masters and seventh in the US Open either side of his US PGA victory.
Schauffele can also boast three other top 10s in the Masters - including a tie for second behind Woods at Augusta National in 2019 - while he has finished no worse than 14th in his last eight US Open starts.
“Before I had any majors it’s something I’ve always wanted,” Schauffele, who carded a flawless closing 65 on Sunday to finish two shots ahead of Justin Rose and Billy Horschel, said when asked about completing the grand slam.
“I’m one step closer and still have a long way to go. But if you don’t see yourself doing it, you’re never going to do it.
“There’s still a lot of things that I’d like to do in my career, and this is a very big leap towards that. The fire is still burning, maybe brighter than ever.
“Everyone in my family knows how competitive I am. I may not be the guy running around fist pumping, but that’s just who I am. I kind of know how I need to be to perform at a high level.
“The same way I don’t get really angry, I also don’t let myself get too over the moon because to me it’s the same thing.
“If I’m sitting there snapping a club, that would be the same as me running around fist pumping. It would take too long for me to adjust before my next shot to hit a good one.
“I’ve kind of embraced this sort of So-Cal (Southern California), laid-back kid, but there’s obviously a fire burning deep within, or you wouldn’t have a couple majors sitting by your side.”
Schauffele also had his family at his side in Troon and gave the honour of deciding what to drink first out of the Claret Jug to his father Stefan, his long-time coach who had been in Hawaii when his son won the US PGA title.
“I decided to take golf seriously when I was about, I don’t know, 13 maybe,” Schauffele recalled.
“I sat down with my dad when I was maybe 15 and 16 and we started to really hash out some goals and dreams of what I’d like to do. I was on the couch with my dad a lot watching other guys win majors and win big tournaments.
“My dad and I, we’ve definitely talked about this. We’ve watched that walk up 18 pretty much every year until I’ve played in The Open. It’s definitely something that we’ve both dreamt of.”
