Xander Schauffele is perhaps the player the hopes are highest for when it comes to trash-talking in the opening match of TGL, which pits New York Golf Club against The Bay Golf Club.
Xander Schauffele is not only one of the very best golfers in the world, but he also appears to be one of the most brutal when it comes to some of the comments he is prepared to make out on the course.
Certainly, he more than played his part in the latest match on Bob Does Sports’ YouTube channel, in which the world number two took on the trio in a scramble match at Panther National in Palm Beach Gardens.
But it would appear that no-one is safe from Schauffele’s cutting comments.
When Xander Schauffele brutally roasted caddie Austin Kaiser
Of course, Schauffele has formed an amazing partnership with caddie Austin Kaiser, with Kaiser on his bag for both of the 31-year-old’s major victories in 2024. In fact, Kaiser has been on Schauffele’s bag for the entirety of his PGA Tour career with the pair meeting at college.
However, it seems that their partnership has not always been overwhelmingly successful. As Schauffele noted during the match, he managed to leave Kaiser speechless during a tournament in Japan previously.
“I’ve never yelled at him. There’s one time in Japan where I roasted him on the putting green,” he said.
“We had this 15-foot putt and we were like in 30th or whatever, it was like three years ago probably. And I was like, ‘what have you got?’ And he goes, ‘right edge’. And I was like there’s no chance this is right edge. He goes, ‘ball out right’. I’m like, this is three feet out to the right. So I hit it on his line just because I was like, ‘alright, we’ll use your line’. And it misses two feet left, so I look at him and I go, ‘that’s the worst f—— read’, out loud on the putting green, ‘I have ever seen in my life’. Next hole, I go, ‘what do you like here?’ And he completely shut down.”
“I was dead serious,” he added, when asked if Kaiser knew he was joking with him.
How Schauffele looks set to set the standard in the opening match of TGL
There looks to be a lot of pressure riding on Schauffele’s shoulders heading into the opening match of TGL. He is undoubtedly the standout name for those hoping to see the players’ characters shine through in the SoFi Center.
The one concern about TGL appears to be if the players do not embrace the different format as much as they need to to keep fans engaged for the entirety of the season. Not only do many fans want to see good golf, but they also want to see a side of the players they rarely see during most events.
Hopefully, they are prepared to take the handbrake off and make TGL a lot more interesting. Schauffele certainly seems to be the one to watch on day one.
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