Austin Kaiser returns to Central Coast

Just a few short days after caddying Xander Schauffele to a second place finish at the Open Championship in Scotland, 2010 Atascadero High grad Austin Kaiser has returned to the Central Coast.Kaiser is now preparing himself for another important event this weekend, his wedding.Wednesday afternoon at the Paso Robles Golf Club, Kaiser’s friends and family played a round of golf before his big day on Saturday. Kaiser was teammates with Schauffele at San Diego State University for two seasons, and while training with the San Diego Police Department in 2015, Kaiser got a call from Schauffele to be his caddie on tour. It didn’t take too long for Kaiser to accept Schauffele’s invitation.A year and a half later, Schauffele was named 2017 PGA Tour ‘Rookie of the Year.’Kaiser says that caddying for Schauffele has been an opportunity he doesn’t take for granted."That’s the biggest part, I don’t think I’d do this for anyone else," Kaiser said. "It’s part of the team aspect. If I was doing it for Rory McIlroy or any of those other guys, I wouldn’t be as emotionally invested as I am with him. You know, I see him as a brother so it’s cool to be on the bag with him."Kaiser continued, "I still wake up and I have one of the best jobs anyone could have. I carry bags for a living and get to see the world and watch top-notch golfers every day. It’s been a good job. I made a good decision, I think."While he doesn’t get the chance to golf as much as he used to, Kaiser still has the skills. He won the caddie competition at TPC Sawgrass in May after landing his tee shot within 10-feet on the par-3 17th.Kaiser and Schauffele will remain busy the rest of the summer as they continue to compete for a spot on the United States’ 2018 Ryder Cup team and 2018 FedEx Cup playoffs.