Justin Rose's caddie sums up how everyone feels about Open champ Xander Schauffele
Justin Rose's caddie Mark 'Fooch' Fulcher has delivered his verdict after Xander Schauffele destroyed the field to claim The Open at Royal Troon.
Justin Rose's caddie Mark 'Fooch' Fulcher offered a whimsical response in the immediate aftermath of Xander Schauffele claiming the final men's major of the year.
Schauffele tore round Royal Troon on Sunday to claim The Open and eventually finished two clear of crowd favourite Rose.
The popular Englishman was hoping to add an unlikely second major title to his resume more than a decade after claiming the 2013 U.S. Open at Merion.
Rose, 43, had to qualify for The Open and was box-office viewing all week.
But in the end Schauffele was just too good and is now a two-time major champion.
He carded a final round of 6-under 65 to finish on 9-under after 72 holes.
"He's quite nice," Fulcher told NLU's Kevin Van Vulkenburg and a group of reporters.
"We'd love it if he was a bit of a w----r but instead he's top class."
Fulcher was Rose's caddie for the first part of his career and the duo enjoyed considerable success together before they split.
They were re-united at the biennial contest last year.
"I was so strong out there today"
For his part Rose admitted he had two emotions after he walked off the course.
He finished in a tie for second with American Billy Horschel.
"It [the disappointment] hit me hard because I was so strong out there today," he said.
"I kind of got off to the start I wanted. I really played the way I wanted to today.
"I got off on the front foot. I played my way right into the tournament early doors.
"[I] felt comfortable with it all day. Did a lot of the hard things really well on the golf course today."
Despite the near miss, Rose said he did not have any regrets.
"That's the deal I made with myself today to come off with no regrets," Rose said.
"Obviously, yeah, I'll have a few more chances, of course, but you know that this is a great opportunity today.
"You want to walk off the golf course going, yeah, I didn't squander that.
"I ran putts at the hole today. I feel like I had opportunities. I felt like I took a lot of them.
"But I felt super comfortable out there, which the fact that I haven't really been in contention much this year, that gives me a lot of heart.
Of Schauffele, Rose said: "He's such a calm guy out there.
"I don't know what he's feeling, but he certainly makes it look very easy.
"He plays with a freedom, which kind of tells you as a competitor that he's probably not feeling a tonne of the bad stuff.
"He's got a lot of runway ahead and a lot of exciting stuff ahead, I'm sure."
