Xander Schauffele mocks Shane Lowry’s public complaints
After adding a British Open title to his PGA Championship successes, not even the wind and rain on Scotland’s west coast could dampen Xander Schauffele’s spirits as he smashed the Claret Jug Shot.
The American is having a monumental year, having already claimed the PGA Championship title when he braved the sun and rain to win on the final day in Scotland last May. Entering the final round one stroke behind leader Billy Horschel, he finished at 9-under 275 for a memorable two-stroke victory over his closest rivals. Praising his performance as the first star since Jordan Spieth to win two majors in the same season, the 30-year-old admitted the final round was “the best I’ve played” of his career. Reflecting on his British Open experience and his heroics, there was no doubting the Californian’s pride. Smiling broadly as he recalled the events of last week, he spoke of how as a kid growing up on the other side of the Atlantic he dreamed of winning the Burgundy Cup. “It’s hard to explain,” he recalled. As a child, you dream of it. Lately I’ve been trying to force myself to dream about it. It is super -realistic. That’s a dream. “Coming here is always a special trip. I grew up in the United States and I am honored to travel while playing golf. This is what I am always looking forward to. Wind, rain, fan, deep bunker -you call it. It’s something I’ve always enjoyed and maybe that helped me win this title.
But his cheerful attitude contrasted with that of Lowry, who openly admitted his own anguish to some of his frustrations with the Royal Troon set-up. After a week of bitter wind and rain on the west coast of Scotland, the Irishman’s anger was clear as he shared his thoughts about the experience. “Look, I don’t even know what to say. It was a lot of work. “It wasn’t much fun,” he admitted. “Driver, driver at 3 p.m. 16 plays is a long time. 17 year old driver. After that, if you stand on the 18th T -shirt and arrive at the fairway, you can actually get on the fairway, and I think it will be 230 meters from the fairway.