HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. – Xander Schauffele was only 14-years-old but can tell you exactly where he was in 2008 when Tiger Woods rolled in his birdie putt on the 72nd hole at the U.S. Open to force a playoff with Rocco Mediate.
“I remember watching Tiger make the putt in ’08. I was standing by a tree that’s no longer there, it got taken down by the storm. I watched that putt live,” he recalled on Tuesday at the RBC Heritage. “I just remember being a kid. Everything seems bigger than real life with the stands and the crowds and people going nuts.”
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Schauffele will also remember Sunday at the Masters where he finished a stroke behind Woods after a final-round 68. Although it’s only been 48 hours since he completed his round at Augusta National he said he’s had plenty of time to recall what happened.
“It was like a dream,” he said. “It’s only my second Masters and I definitely jumped into that scene a little faster than I thought I would, to be completely honest.”
Schauffele was encouraged by his runner-up finish at the Masters but conceded he still has plenty to learn about Augusta National.
“On 16 I hit the wrong club. I laughed with my caddie because I had no idea what the putt was doing,” he said. “I just went off memory with Tiger’s chip coming all the way around, obviously hit the putt way too hard. Made a good 6-footer [for par] on 16.”
Source: Internet
