Xander Schauffele and Bryson DeChambeau have won the past three major championships, but they could not be much more different in their demeanor on the course.
Schauffele was notably understated during Sunday's final round of The Open Championship at Royal Troon despite producing the greatest run of his career to edge out Justin Rose and Billy Horschel to win the Claret Jug. By contrast, LIV Golf star DeChambeau has been increasingly animated in his recent major championship performances.
The big-hitting American initially found it difficult to connect with his peers and fans, but he has become increasingly popular over the past 12 months and was the crowd favorite at Valhalla in May despite Schauffele beating him to the Wannamaker Trophy by one shot.
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A month later, DeChambeau wore his heart on his sleeve throughout the week at Pinehurst No. 2 as he defeated Rory McIlroy by one shot to win his second U.S. Open. He threw his hands in the air and roared as he sank the final putt before running through the galleries with the trophy, allowing spectators to touch it.
At Troon, Schauffele had his victory sewn up by the time he walked up 18 and was met by a huge ovation from the grandstands, but he remained cool – even after sinking the putt that completed his win.
"Look, I may not be the guy running around fist-pumping, but that’s just who I am,” Schauffele explained. “I kind of know how I need to be to perform at a high level.
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"The same way I don’t get really angry, I also don’t let myself get too over the moon because to me it’s the same thing. I’ve kind of embraced this sort of So-Cal [Southern California], laid-back kid, but there’s obviously a fire burning deep within, or you wouldn’t have a couple majors sitting by your side.”
Clearly, both men's vastly different approaches to the game have served them well. Although DeChambeau missed the cut at The Open, he has been playing perhaps the best golf of his career this season while also juggling his new-found success on YouTube.
He discussed his changing relationship with fans at Troon, telling reporters: "I think I've always been who I've been. I've definitely matured a lot. It's been a growing process for me over the course of time.
"YouTube has massively helped, I can tell you that, being able to just release the emotions in the way that I know I can. When I was a kid, I was super emotional obviously, but I got frustrated on the golf course, I got really excited on the golf course.
"Then when I got on tour, it was like everybody had to just be in control. Control yourself. Control yourself. There were times when I got frustrated, but also times when I realized, hey, no, I should be expressing my emotions because that's me. I don't want to be someone that I'm not.
"Just really defining that and refining that to a place where I am today has been a lot of work in progress. It's just taken time for me to have a better, bigger perspective on life and also having a platform where I can showcase that and refine it to a really cool, cool level and give people some great entertainment."
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