"I didn’t even watch the putt" - Xander Schauffele’s caddie on the World No. 2’s first Major win
Xander Schauffele calmly nailed a putt for a birdie on the 18th hole at the PGA Championship, giving him his first Major victory. However, Austin Kaiser, his caddie, was not observing the action.
Kaiser claimed that he couldn't bear to look, so he turned around while Xander Schauffele took on the single biggest shot of his career so far. He said on SiriusXM PGA Tour Radio:
"I was kind of on his backside, so I was close to that where the gallery is. Dude, I didn't even watch the putt. They're like, 'What? You didn't watch the putt?' You can see me look up and I hear everyone start to go, 'Get in the hole' and I look up and I see it lip in and I just lost it. I threw the pin down, and I was like, 'This is unbelievable.'"
Kaiser went on to compliment Schauffele on his victory and said that making a clutch putt is the exact way a person would want to take home a trophy this size. A clutch putt to win any tournament is huge, but especially for someone like Schauffele who had been searching for a Major for a long time.
A little while earlier, Bryson DeChambeau had birdied the same hole in his final swing. That drew him into a tie with Schauffele, who parred the next couple of holes to set up the dramatic finale. Kaiser could not bear to watch, but DeChambeau could only watch helplessly as his spectacular putt went in vain.
The win catapulted Schauffele to the world number two rank on the OWGR, surpassing Wyndham Clark and Rory McIlroy. He trails only Scottie Scheffler after an epic -21 performance at Valhalla.
Austin Kaiser predicted Xander Schauffele's win
While he didn't watch the final stroke, Kaiser had predicted a few weeks earlier that he and Schauffele would earn their first Major together.
Speaking with Colt Knost, Schauffele's caddie was supremely confident:
"Colt Knost, works for CBS about a month ago, he goes, 'I gotta do a podcast, and it's based on PGA. Who do you have to win?' I told him,'We're gonna make it.' He goes, 'Why do you say that?' and I go, 'It's Zoysia, which he's played very well on. You know, East Lake's zoysia. It's a long ball's course, and we're hitting the h**l out of it right now.' And I was like, 'He's gonna do it there.' So he's like, 'Alright. I'm going to pick you. Don't let me down.'"
He felt confident that Schauffele, who had been playing very well but coming up just short, was eventually going to receive his due. The team analyzed Xander Schauffele's recent outings and knew just a few things had prevented wins.
If they could shore up those things, then the style of play that transpired at the PGA Championship would be enough for a win. Sure enough, they shored them up and got a win that Kaiser couldn't bring himself to watch.