Justin Rose's caddie Mark Fulcher has described Xander Schauffele as 'top class' while admitting he would love to be able to call him 'a bit of a w****r'. Schauffele clinched his second major title of the year by winning The Open on Sunday, with the 30-year-old leaving it late to pull ahead of his rivals.
He finished on nine under par with six birdies on the final day, leaving him two shots clear of runner-up Rose. It saw Schauffele become the first player to win The Open and PGA Championship in the same year since Rory McIlroy achieved the feat in 2014.
Rose fought valiantly but ended up falling just short, with the popular Englishman receiving a standing ovation after his birdie on the 18th hole. His caddie Fulcher was quick to congratulate Schauffele on his victory before issuing an X-rated verdict when quizzed on his character.
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"He's quite nice," said Fulcher. "We'd love it if he was a bit of a w****r, but instead he's top class."
Rose, meanwhile, sent a classy message to Schauffele after seeing his own dreams of lifting the Claret Jug evaporate into thin air. He started off well on the final day, moving to three under par on the front nine, but his hopes dwindled as he found himself one-over through five holes on the back nine.
"When I walked off the course it hit me," said Rose. "The dream's been alive all week and I felt that I did an awesome job of coming out and really getting amongst it from the word go. I got off to a strong start and felt like I played my way into the tournament.
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"I saw glimpses of my name at the top of the leaderboard at times, did some of the hard work on the back nine but Xander got that momentum. He's an ice cold competitor and one of the best players in the world and it was tough to keep up.
"This will be a tough one but a great one. I played in some of the hardest weather all week. I played some of the best golf but it didn't quite add up to the trophy."
Rose ended up sharing second place with Billy Horschel, while Schauffele carded an impressive six under par to secure his second major title in three months. All four of this year's majors have been won by American players, with Bryson DeChambeau and Scottie Scheffler triumphing at the US Open and Masters respectively.
