Xander Schauffele's caddie makes bold claim to leave Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler sweating

Xander Schauffele's caddie Austin Kaiser believes the newly-crowned Open champion is primed to become golf's next grand slam winner.

Schauffele has laid to rest the notion of being golf's nearly-man after snatching two major titles this year - the PGA Championship in May and last weekend's The Open Championship . His winning display at Royal Troon catapulted him to No. 2 in the world rankings.

Schauffele is now ahead of Rory McIlroy in the rankings and just behind Scottie Scheffler . The latter is enjoying a dominant year on the PGA Tour - winning several titles, including the Players Championship - but has only won one of the four majors, the Masters twice.

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Kaiser has heaps of faith in Schauffele to persist with his triumphant streak and secure a grand slam - winning all four majors - ahead of everyone else. The caddie has said: "After he won the PGA, I looked at him and said, 'Let's go for the Grand Slam in the next three'.

"Let's do it. Why not? He's right there. He's played well in Augusta. He's played well in the US Open. I definitely could see him achieving that. No problem."

McIlroy and Jordan Spieth are the closest to completing the career grand slam, having both won three out of the four majors. McIlroy champion bagged victories at the US Open in 2011, PGA Championship in 2012 and 2014, and The Open Championship in 2014.

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Despite encountering a 10-year major drought, McIlroy has experienced several close calls, including securing the second position - just three shots behind Scheffler - at the Masters two years ago. That win would have granted him his personal career slam.

Only a quintet of players have accomplished this feat: Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Ben Hogan, and Gene Sarazen. But Schauffele's caddie isn't alone in his belief that he stands a strong chance of joining these ranks - his father, Stefan, believes so too.

He said: "Take a look at the statistics and see who has the greatest potential of being the next career grand-slammer because I think he's the one who has the game. Yes, I'm being subjective but I think, objectively, you will arrive at the same conclusion."