Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama (L) and Xander Schauffele (R) of the United States fist bump after the third round of the Masters Tournament on April 10, 2021, at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia. (Photo by Kyodo News via Getty Images)
A dramatic finish at the US Masters in Augusta, Georgia Sunday involved local golf professional, Austin Kaiser.
Hideki Matsuyama of Japan won the Masters tournament after getting serious pressure from Xander Schauffele in the final few holes. Xander’s caddie is Austin Kaiser, the former Atascadero Greyhound who played regularly at Chalk Mountain Golf Course in Atascadero. Schauffele and Kaiser were teammates on the golf team at San Diego State University. After Xander turned pro, he asked Austin to caddie for him and they have done well together.
Xander closed the cap in the final few holes, but then his ball rolled into the lake on the 16th hole, and he triple-bogeyed. That, dropped Xander from second to third. Matsuyama played well enough on the final two holes to win. Xander finished in a tie for third with Jordan Spieth.
Newcomer Will Zalatoris, who started playing golf in the Bay Area, finished runner-up. Zalatoris played for Wake Forest University before qualifying for the tour.
Two years ago, Xander Schauffele finished in second at the Masters, one stroke behind Masters winner, Tiger Woods. So, he’s placed in the top three in two of the last three Masters Tournaments. Matsuyama won $2,070,000 in prize money. Schaufffele took home $667,000.
