Xander Schaufflele modestly waved off praise from Justin Rose's caddie with an 11-word response after claiming victory at The Open. He secured his second major title on Sunday, adding to his PGA Championship triumph in May.
The win at Royal Troon also took him up to second in golf's world rankings, ahead of Rory McIlroy after his disappointing week. Schaufflele, 30, has long been one of the best performers on the PGA Tour, and he now has the titles to back that up.
Following his superb Sunday showing, which saw him move to nine-under-par, he was hailed by Mark Fulcher, who'd seen his final round up close with Rose challenging the victor for the lead but ultimately coming up two shots short.
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"He's clearly one of the best golfers of his generation," said Fulcher, who boasts more than two decades of experience in the sport. "It's taken a little bit of time for him to cross that finish line.
"He's actually quite nice, too. You'd almost like him to be a bit of a w****r. But he really couldn't be nicer. He's a lovely fellow. It's just nice to know that he's top class."
Schauffele was later questioned if he believes in that assessment. He refused to enter that discussion, reports the Mirror. "Pretty much that's you guys' job to speculate on those things," he told reporters.
"I'm just trying to win as many of these things as I can and play the best golf as I can and be a decent guy. So I'll let you ponder that one."
Schauffele clinched The 152nd Open after a stunning final-round 65, which he labelled the best of his career. Having previously been one of golf's nearly-men with 12 top-10 finishes in majors without a win, he finally broke that streak earlier this year at Valhalla.
"Winning the first one helped me a lot today on the back nine," he admitted. "I had some feeling of calmness come through and that was very helpful on what has been one of the hardest back nines I've ever played in a tournament.
"It's a dream come true to win two majors in one year. It took me forever just to win one, so to have two now is something else. There's super stressful moments when you're trying to win a major championship. I felt them in the past, the ones I didn't win, and I let them get to me."
Now Schauffele is eyeing a career Grand Slam, having become the first player since Jordan Spieth in 2015 to secure their first two major wins in the same season. It's also the first time since 1982 that Americans have swept all four majors in a single year, following Scottie Scheffler's Masters victory and Bryson DeChambeau's US Open triumph.
