Who is Xander Schauffele's caddie? Meet Austin Kaiser

Xander Schauffle has been one of the most consistent performers on the PGA Tour for the last eight years, and he owes a big part of that success to his long-time friend and caddie, Austin Kaiser. 

Kaiser and Schauffele have been friends for more than a decade, and he has been his go-to bag man for the past six years. 

Their paths first crossed on the greens at San Diego State University, where they both honed their golf skills during their college years. 

The team shares a special connection, and Kaiser has openly admitted that he doesn't think he could ever caddie for anyone else. 

Kaiser even told the San Diego Union Tribune that not even Tiger Woods would be able to get him to switch. 

He said:

"If Xander fired me and Tiger or any of those guys came up to me, I wouldn’t caddie for anybody else. Because I don’t have that emotional attachment.

“It’s like being drafted by your favourite team growing up. You can’t get that with anyone else. I think I have the best job in the world."

Upon leaving university together, Kaiser initially wanted to pursue a career in the police force; however, when Schauffele came calling, he didn't have to think twice about jumping on the bag. 

Despite their long-forged friendship, Kaiser admitted on the SubPar podcast that he thought he was going to be fired early in his career as a looper.

Having drank a little more than he should have, Kaiser found himself doing drunken snow angels in a cemetery only hours before he was scheduled to meet Schauffele on the range for a practice session after missing the cut at the AT&T Byron Nelson in 2016.

Luckily, Schauffele saw the funny side, and the pair have gone on to have a lucrative career on the PGA Tour together. 

Most recently, Kaiser was on the bag to help Schauffele win his first major championship at the 2024 US PGA Championship. 

The pair have also won seven other PGA Tour titles, amassing Schauffele close to $50m in prize money.

In addition to their success on the PGA Tour, Kaiser and Schauffele also achieved Olympic success when they won the gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. 

Unfortunately for Kaiser, only players were awarded medals at the games. 

However, Schauffele had other ideas and gifted Kaiser a golden ring with the Olympics insignia etched on top of it.