Xander Schauffele responds to Shane Lowry's brutal verdict after winning The Open

Xander Schauffele has brushed aside Shane Lowry's criticisms about the Royal Troon conditions, revelling in his recent Open win.

The Yank has been having an outstanding year, with a PGA Championship win already under his belt back in May. He stared down both sunshine and showers to come out on top on Scottish soil, finishing as the leader of the pack, nine under 275 for a thrilling two-shot triumph.

The man from California couldn't hide his elation after adding a second major title to this year's tally, saying the final round was 'the best [he has] played' in all his years of swinging clubs. Pondering his achievement at the Open, the 30 year old is clearly brimming with pride

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Grinning from ear to ear, he relayed tales of his younger self across the pond, dreaming of one day hoisting the iconic Claret Jug, reports the Mirror . He reflected: "It's hard to explain. As a kid you dream of it. I tried to force myself to dream of it as of late. It's surreal. It is a dream come true."

"It's always a special trip coming over here. Growing up in the States, it's a privilege to travel playing golf . It's something I always look forward to. The wind, the rain, the fans, the deep bunkers - you name it. It's something I always enjoy and it probably helped me win this thing."

However, his joyous outlook was in contrast to that of Lowry , who was transparent about his woes as he admitted to some grievances with the set-up at Royal Troon. After a week of testing wind and rain on Scotland's west coast, the Irishman's exasperation was clear as he gave his own thoughts on the experience.

"Look, I don't really know what to say. It was a grind. It wasn't much fun," he admitted. "Driver, driver into 15. 16 playing ridiculously long. Driver into 17. Then you're standing on the 18th tee wondering if you can actually hit the fairway, if you can reach the fairway, and it's 230 yards to the fairway.

"Bear in mind my driver pitched about 220 yards on the 17th hole. So, yeah, it's not much fun out there. It's obviously very difficult. But you'd have to question why there wasn't a couple of tees put forward today, to be honest. I think 15 and 17 - like 15 is 500 yards playing into that wind."

Likewise, Ryder Cup teammate Tyrrell Hatton appeared to be in agreement with his peer as he confessed that he had found the conditions challenging at Royal Troon, saying: "I think this has been a fantastically fair test this week. I don't know whether to feel sorry for the R&A about yesterday afternoon or whether they did get it wrong, I genuinely don't know.

"I think I was sat in my chair in my living room in the warmth thinking I hit eight-iron on 13 and these boys are hitting three-wood. So it was quite a difference. Aside from that, I think it's been a really good test."