Xander Schauffele produced golf and an incredibly high standard to win his second Major of the season in The Open Championship at Royal Troon.
It was a fitting end to what’s been another great year of Major Championship golf. Schauffle also claimed the PGA Championship at Valhalla, while Scottie Scheffler reigned supreme at The Masters and Bryson DeChambeau notched his second US Open title at Pinehurst.
Here’s what I loved about this year’s Majors, along with a few things that irked me along the way…
The Masters
- Bryson DeChambeau was rightly called out for his Masters ‘par 67’ comments in 2020, but the reaction was slightly disproportionate. It was satisfying, therefore, to see him open with a seven-under-par 65 to lead by one.
- Speaking of Bryson, his hole-out on the 18th during round three was one of the most exciting moments of the Major season. Even better was Scottie Scheffler’s reaction to the shot when he was waiting to be interviewed by Amanda Balionis.
- Even though it wasn’t the most riveting Masters in recent memory, it was a masterclass from Scheffler. Every time he dropped shots or someone else made a surge, he found another gear and kept his peers at arm’s length. For the second time in three years, he ambled up the 18th knowing the Green Jacket was his.
- It was an incredibly impressive Major debut from Ludvig Aberg, who finished second in his first ever Masters. He looked completely at home on the biggest stage and will no doubt don the Green Jacket at some point in his career.
- It was lovely to see the relationship Tommy Fleetwood struck up with his caddie for the week, Gray Moore, with regular looper Ian Finnis sidelined. Moore, a local bagman, will have earned somewhere in the region of $70,000 thanks to Fleetwood’s tied-third finish.
The PGA Championship
- Xander Schaufflee isn’t the most charismatic of golfers, but it was gratifying to see him finally get over the line in a Major. He did so in style, with his birdie putt on the 72nd hole just catching enough of the left edge and falling into the cup. It was a victory his talent and bravery deserved.
- Valhalla was perhaps the week where public opinion of Bryson DeChambeau changed forever. He interacted with the gallery, showed emotion and really fed off the crowd. His birdie putt on the 18th hole had me out of my chair and was arguably my favourite moment of the 2024 Major season. The video of him shouting at a man who took the golf ball he’d thrown to a child was another heart-warming moment.
- It was great to watch Shane Lowry and Justin Rose surge up the leaderboard from the same group during Saturday’s play. The friends and Ryder Cup team-mates pushed each other along as they went from just making the cut to being right in the thick of the tournament. Rose shot a 64, while Lowry registered a bogey-free nine-under-par 62 – the joint lowest round in men’s Major history.
- Alejandro Tosti drove the island-green par-4 13th during the final round. His tee shot travelled 338 yards and settled some six feet from the cup. It was unbelievable.
The US Open
- Bryson’s epic bunker shot from 55 yards on the 72nd hole will live long in the memory, but his back-nine tussle with Rory McIlroy was arguably the best Major viewing since Tiger at the 2019 Masters. It’s a shame one of them had to lose.
- Bryson casually gatecrashing Johnson Wagner attempting to replicate his bunker shot on live TV was fantastic viewing. It was entertaining and spontaneous and made people like Bryson even more.
- I absolutely loved the set-up of Pinehurst, with devilish green complexes, fast fairways and putting surfaces and lottery lies if you missed the short stuff. The USGA gets a lot of criticism, but it was spot on here.
- I was thrilled to see Adam Scott receive an invite to play, thereby keeping his incredible Major streak alive. That was his 92nd consecutive Major (now 93), a testament to his ability, fitness and professionalism.
- Francesco Molinari made an ace on his final hole of round two to make the cut on the number. What a time to pull something like that out of the bag!
The Open Championship
- Schauffle’s play over the final 36 holes at Royal Troon was as close to flawless as it gets. He looked so composed in Saturday’s brutal weather and he shot a bogey-free 65 on Sunday to hold off a strong chasing pack. He’s pretty close to unbeatable when he’s playing like that.
- I loved watching Justin Rose. He came through the worst part of the draw and also negotiated the back nine beautifully on Saturday. It will take some time to get over, I’m sure, but there are so many positives to take. If one of his back-nine putts went in and one of Xander’s missed, he could be the Champion Golfer of the Year.
- Speaking of the bad weather on Saturday, it was an absolute delight to watch the world’s best players scrapping and scrambling for their lives on a back nine that played incredibly long. How often do you see pros not being able to reach par 4s in two? It was riveting.
- Dan Brown was one of the stories of the season. The unheralded Englishman came into The Open with no form and hit the front during round one. While he let a few shots get away on Sunday, he played fantastic golf overall and finished inside the top ten, earning a spot at Royal Portush next year.
- The 238-yard 17th was a monster all week, but Si Woo Kim brought it to its knees with a hole-in-one during round three. Talk about gaining shots on the field.
- It was a joy to watch Scotsman Calum Scott walk down the 72nd fairway in his home country knowing he’d secured the Silver Medal. Scott described it as one of the best moments of his life.
5 Things That Annoyed Me...
- The incessant talk around Tiger Woods was a bit much. I understand why everyone has an opinion, but he’s not going to stop playing Majors and he’s entitled to make any decision he wants, so let’s all agree not to talk about it anymore.
- It’s an annual irritation, but people who say the US Open is too hard need to get a grip. One, it’s not, and two, watching professional golfers shoot 25-under-par is mind-numbingly boring. The US Open and the third round of The Open offered the best golf viewing of the year so far.
- I’m a big fan of Sky’s coverage generally, but I felt The Open wasn’t up to the usual high standards. We were treated to poor camera angles multiple times during key moments and there was a little too much ‘banter’ for my liking. As I understand it, though, it was far better than what NBC had to offer in America!
- While I sympathise with Rory McIlroy’s and his painful collapse at the US Open, I thought it was really poor of him not to speak to the media after his final round.
- There was a lot of chatter on social media about The Open being unfair because weather conditions always seem to make it harder on one side of the draw than the other. Many even proposed a two-tee start to mitigate this. Absolutely not. Luck is a part of all top-tier sport, parity would be impossible to achieve at The Open and plenty of people have come through the ‘bad’ side of the draw to win.
