Okay, so I started digging into something that caught my interest lately: how much money Xander Schauffele’s caddie actually makes. You always hear about the massive prize money the golfers rake in, but what about the person walking alongside them, carrying the bag and giving advice?
Starting the Search
So, my first step was just trying to find a straight number. I went searching online, thinking maybe there’s a list somewhere, like player earnings. Well, nope. Turns out, caddie earnings aren’t really public information. It’s more of a private agreement between the player and the caddie. That made sense, but it meant I had to figure it out a different way.
Understanding How Caddies Get Paid
I then looked into the general pay structure for caddies on the tour. This was more fruitful. Most folks familiar with the game seem to agree on a common model. It usually breaks down like this:
- A base salary: They get paid a certain amount just for showing up and working the tournament week. This covers their basic expenses like travel and lodging, usually a couple thousand bucks a week, maybe $2,000 to $3,000.
- A percentage of winnings: This is where the real money comes in, especially for caddies working with successful players. The percentages seem to follow a rough standard:
- Around 5% if the player makes the cut.
- Around 7-8% for a top-10 finish.
- Around 10% for a win.
So, the caddie’s income is heavily tied to how well their player performs.
Connecting it to Xander and his Caddie
Alright, now thinking about Xander Schauffele. The guy is consistently one of the top players in the world. He finishes high up on leaderboards week after week, and he wins big tournaments, including majors like the PGA Championship he just won recently. His official earnings are massive, easily millions each year.
His caddie is Austin Kaiser. They’ve known each other for a long time, apparently since their college days, which is pretty cool. They seem to have a solid partnership. Given Xander’s success, Austin Kaiser must be benefiting directly from that standard percentage structure.
Trying to Estimate the Earnings
This is where I had to do some guesswork based on what I learned. Let’s take a look at Xander’s performance. He earns millions upon millions in prize money. In a really good year, let’s say he pulls in something like $15 million or even $20 million across the season (combining official money, bonuses, etc. – though the percentage usually only applies to official winnings). Let’s be more conservative and just think about official PGA Tour winnings – say he makes $10 million in a season.
Now apply those percentages:
- If Austin Kaiser gets an average of, say, 8% of Xander’s winnings over the course of a year (balancing out regular cuts, top 10s, and maybe a win or two)…
- 8% of $10,000,000 is $800,000.
Then you add the weekly base salary. If he works around 30 tournaments a year at $2,500 per week, that’s another $75,000.
So, just based on these rough estimates, it looks like Austin Kaiser could be making well over $800,000 in a strong year for Xander. If Xander wins a major with a huge payout (like the $3.33 million for the PGA Championship), 10% of that alone is $333,000 from just one week!
Important Caveats
Now, I have to stress, this is all estimation. Their actual percentage deal could be different. Maybe it’s slightly lower, maybe it’s higher. Maybe there are other bonus structures involved. It’s a private agreement. We, the public, don’t know the specifics locked in between Xander and Austin.
My Final Takeaway
So, after digging around, what did I find? I couldn’t pin down an exact number for Austin Kaiser’s earnings, because that info just isn’t public. But, by understanding how caddies are generally paid and looking at Xander Schauffele’s incredible success and consistency, it’s pretty clear his caddie is earning a fantastic living. We’re talking deep into the six figures annually, and likely pushing into seven figures in years with major wins or extremely high overall finishes. It really hammered home how much of a team sport golf can be at that level, and how valuable a good caddie is. Definitely a well-paid job if you land the bag for a top player.
