Xander Schauffele still hasn't forgotten how a crying baby wrecked an Open chance

Cast your mind back to the 2018 Open at Carnoustie and Xander Schauffele was attempting to claim his maiden major. 

On the penultimate hole of that year's Open, the American faced a delicate pitch from off the green of the 17th needing to save par to remain only one back of leader Francesco Molinari. 

It's a daunting situation for any golfer to be in, but matters for Schauffele were made far worse when he had to deal with a crying baby in a stroller directly behind him. 

At the time, Schauffele backed off the ball and laughed with the young mum who, for some reason, decided not to move away.  

He ended up losing by two to Molinari after he failed to get up-and-down and later laughed off the moment in the immediate aftermath of his disappointment. 

"I was in my own world to be completely honest," Schauffele said back then. 

Fast-forward to 2024 and Schauffele has finally broken through in a major, clipping the PGA Championship at Valhalla on the 72nd hole, much to Bryson DeChambeau's disappointment. 

But he can still remember vividly that near miss. 

He told reporters ahead of the 152nd Open at Royal Troon that he spent the week prior six years ago in Germany sightseeing with his family. 

"I actually remember I was in a really bad golf shape," he said. 

"I think I shanked my first shot on the range at Carnoustie [on the] Sunday night. 

"It was pretty-eye opening. I was in Germany drinking beer and eating pretzels for four days straight before that. 

"My expectations were so low on how I was going to perform, and I actually played great.

"I had that crying baby on 17 there. I was in a bad spot regardless, but that probably didn't help in that situation.

"I was close. Thinking back to it, I was pretty blue eyed in that moment. 

"At the time, I just remember Jordan [Spieth] and I shot a million on the front nine, and we were just trying to salvage the tournament. 

"I was happy with the way I fought back. That's sort of what I take from that tournament."

"He's still El Tigre to me"

Tiger Woods is back at Royal Troon for the first time in two decades. 

The 48-year-old, interestingly, had quite a lot to say in his pre-Open news conference. 

Woods also decided to jab Colin Montgomerie after the former European Ryder Cup captain implored him to retire. 

Montgomerie has since taken to X to claim what he said was taken out of context.

"I wish Tiger well this week," Monty said. 

Schauffele is playing the first two rounds of The Open here with Woods and Patrick Cantlay. 

Asked about Woods becoming his own tribute act, Schauffele said: "He's still El Tigre to me. He's still wearing that red on Sunday. 

"Yeah, I just heard some of those comments that were said by Colin. 

"Whether it's his honest opinion or not, the game of golf needs him, needs him desperately."

He added: "Selfishly, I want him to play as long as possible. 

"It just helps all of the guys out here, just with the amount of eyeballs that someone like Tiger Woods brings to golf.

"He's still got a lot of fight in him. I think he's pretty honest with his own assessment. 

"He'll hang them up when he feels he's ready, and he's still got a lot of bite and a lot of fight in him. 

"I'm not too worried about him, and I look forward to playing with him the first two days."

Watched our latest YouTube video?