After adding the Open title to his success at the PGA Championship, not even the wind and rain on Scotland’s west coast could dampen the mood of Xander Schauffele as he cliched the Claret Jug
Xander Schauffele distanced himself from the critical comments of Shane Lowry over the conditions at Royal Troon as he basked in his success as he triumphed at the Open.
The American is enjoying a memorable year, having already secured the PGA Championship title back in May, as he braved the sun and rain on the final day in Scotland to prevail. Coming into the final round trailing frontrunner Billy Horschel by a shot, he finished nine under 275 as he secured a memorable two-shot victory over his nearest rivals.
Hailing his performance as he became the first star since Jordan Spieth to win two majors in a season, the 30-year-old admitted his final round was ‘the best [he has] played’ in his career. Reflecting on his heroics as he looked back over the experience at the Open, there was no doubting the Californian’s pride.
Beaming as he looked back over the events of the week, he recounted dreaming of clinching the Claret Jug as a youngster growing up on the opposite side of the Atlantic. He recalled: “It’s hard to explain. As a kid you dream of it. I tried to force myself to dream of it as of late. It’s surreal. It is a dream come true.
“It’s always a special trip coming over here. Growing up in the States, it’s a privilege to travel playing golf. It’s something I always look forward to. The wind, the rain, the fans, the deep bunkers – you name it. It’s something I always enjoy and it probably helped me win this thing.”
However, his joyous outlook was in contrast to that of Lowry, who was transparent about his woes as he admitted to some grievances with the set-up at Royal Troon. After a week of testing wind and rain on Scotland’s west coast, the Irishman’s exasperation was clear as he gave his own thoughts on the experience.
“Look, I don’t really know what to say. It was a grind. It wasn’t much fun,” he admitted. “Driver, driver into 15. 16 playing ridiculously long. Driver into 17. Then you’re standing on the 18th tee wondering if you can actually hit the fairway, if you can reach the fairway, and it’s 230 yards to the fairway.
“Bear in mind my driver pitched about 220 yards on the 17th hole. So, yeah, it’s not much fun out there. It’s obviously very difficult. But you’d have to question why there wasn’t a couple of tees put forward today, to be honest. I think 15 and 17 – like 15 is 500 yards playing into that wind.”
Likewise, Ryder Cup teammate Tyrrell Hatton appeared to be in agreement with his his peer as he confessed that he had found the conditions challenging at Royal Troon, saying: “I think this has been a fantastically fair test this week. I don’t know whether to feel sorry for the R&A about yesterday afternoon or whether they did get it wrong, I genuinely don’t know.
“I think I was sat in my chair in my living room in the warmth thinking I hit eight-iron on 13 and these boys are hitting three-wood. So it was quite a difference. Aside from that, I think it’s been a really good test.”
