After clinching the Open title at Royal Troon, it appears that the question of whether Xander Schauffele could ever defect to the LIV Golf tour is a non-starter.
The 30-year-old has been able to shake off his nearly-man reputation during a landmark year as he earned his second major championship honor of the year in Scotland at the weekend. The American clinched the fabled Claret Jug in style, as he finished finished nine under 275 as he secured a two-shot victory over his challengers.
With Schauffele's heroics at the PGA Championship in May still fresh in the memory, his performances this season have elevated him to the No. 2 ranking in the world. However, it seems that the 12-time PGA Tour event winner's head will likely not be turned any time soon by the riches on offer over in Saudi Arabia.
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Household names such as Jon Rahm , Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka and Lee Westwood have already been convinced to defect to the PIF-backed entity in recent years. Still, it appears that the financial benefits of a move to LIV would not be enough to make him agree to a switch - according to his father.
Addressing the subject in a conversation with Golf.com , Stefan Schauffele was open about his son's state of mind as he gave his verdict. Dismissing the premise of the question, he said: "No chance. Xander is not chasing the money. Xander is about legacy. And as my opinion - just as his father - there was never a chance.
"What we told LIV in Saudi Arabia, with Xander beside me, was that if there is no path back to the PGA Tour and if there is no chance at World Ranking points, we do not have anything to talk about. Even if you throw hundreds of millions of dollars at him. That word still stands. I am not called The Ogre without reason. I keep my word."
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As for his son, there was no doubting his joy after adding the Open crown to his victory at the PGA Championship earlier in the year. Looking back over the experience at Royal Troon, the star admitted that he had realized a childhood dream in prevailing at the event in Scotland.
"I've always dreamt of doing it. That walk up 18 truly is one of the coolest feelings I've ever had in my life, with the yellow leaderboards, the fans and the standing ovation," he said. "I got chills walking down and quickly had to zap myself back into focus because the tournament wasn't over yet."
"At the very tip-top. The best round I've played. It is an incredible feeling to be up here with the Claret Jug. But it is just a result at the end of the day, and I really do believe that.
Schauffele added: "Sometimes things go your way, and sometimes they don't. Today I felt like I really controlled a lot of it... I kind of grabbed onto it, and there was no chance I was going to let go of it. All those tough losses in the past or those moments where I let myself slip up and dream too early on that back nine, I was able to reel myself in today and make sure that didn't happen."
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