Wanted alive or dead? This is not the name of Bon Jovi’s song.
The headline is from a framed sign in the player’s hospitality area at the U.S. Open at Los Angeles Country Club last week. It is not a statement by a police agency, although they can sometimes appear to be one, but by the USGA – one of the golf’s governing body – that it wants to arrest or question Xander Schauffele because he stole multiple bottles of red wine. The reward is $1 million (in the best Dr. Evil voice): $1 million.
It was a poster that went viral on social media after it caught viewers’ attention in the background of the USGA video. The poster showed U.S. Open winner Wyndham Clark drinking a non-disclosed alcoholic drink from the trophy of his victory. But others focused more on the upper right-hand corner and wondered why Schauffele was the target of a bounty. The No. 6 ranked player and defending champion of the Travelers Championship this week, Schauffele is the subject of the bounty in the upper-right corner.
It’s time to celebrate! #USOpen pic.twitter.com/fsLDYjwUZV
U.S. Open (USGA), (@usopengolf), June 19, 2020
The backstory: There were four shelves of bottles of white and red wine from brands like A. Rafanelli (a personal favourite), Roth, Chalk Hill, Roth, Roth, and Groth. This is a great perk that’s been bestowed on the entire field of 156.
Signs posted above the wine displays say: “Wine provided by USGA for players.” Spieth/Schauffele rule in effect (One bottle only).”
You’d think that players would be wise enough to not double-fist free bottles of alcohol at a major, but you’d have been wrong. Apparently, at the 2022 U.S. Open at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts, Xander Schauffele was caught red-handed (see photo below with hand-in-the-cookie-jar expression on his face).
Xander Schauffele at the 2022 U.S. Open.
The USGA deserves praise for showing some humor and having fun.
Also:
- Joel Dahmen was demoted from valet parking in Lot A to a shuttle service in Lot F. This is a reference to the fact that his car went missing last year from valet after Friday’s round.
- The Canadian pro Adam Hadwin was trolled by placing a hard hat and safety vest in his locker, a day after being crushed by a security guard who was overzealous at the RBC Canadian Open
- The best locker room nameplates were reportedly directed at Adam Scott.
A little locker-room prank can help players relax during the U.S. Open. Bravo to the USGA.
Schauffele has anyone seen him? This reward is real.
